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| Historic day should be cherished |
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| Opinion - Editorials | |||
| Written by Doug Carder | |||
| Wednesday, 21 January 2009 08:00 | |||
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They are intertwined in American history. President Abraham Lincoln, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama. The three men shared a dream of peace and equal opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race or religion. During the Civil War, President Lincoln signed two executive orders, known as the Emancipation Proclamation, that declared freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America that did not return to Union control by Jan. 1, 1863. The controversial decision, even to some factions in the North, led to the end of slavery in America. A century after the Civil War, Martin Luther King Jr. waged a campaign for civil rights in this country. His march on Selma, Ala., led to passage of the federal Voting Rights Act, which ensured African-Americans the right to vote. So on Sunday, it seemed only fitting that our nation’s first African-American president, Barack Obama, spoke at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to tens of thousands of people who had gathered to watch “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.” Legendary Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson called Obama’s inauguration Tuesday “the greatest thing to happen to African-Americans since the Emancipation Proclamation.” Regardless of your political leanings, the historic significance of this day should be cherished by all Americans.
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