In this context, the achievements of yesterday and of today are intimately linked. Sojourner Truth thundered against slavery so that Frederick Douglass could agitate. Douglass agitated so that Thurgood Marshall could argue the law. Marshall argued so that Rosa Parks could sit. Parks sat so that Martin Luther King Jr. could stand. King stood so that young people could march. Young people marched so that Shirley Chisholm could dare to aim for Congress. Rep. Chisholm dared so that Jesse Jackson could run. Jackson ran so Barack Obama could win. And Obama won because a majority of voting Americans - red, yellow, brown, black and white - were ready to finally say: Yes, we can!
