From Deseret News archives:
For many, nomination is a dream fulfilled
Now George, as a Utah alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention that begins Monday, will participate in something that her mother could never have imagined the expected nomination of Barack Obama, a black man, to be the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.
"I do find myself wondering if she could have imagined the world today, one that she and others like her worked to realize," said George, now a law professor at the University of Utah.
As a black woman, she said, "The past civil rights work has made me, a professor, and Obama, a senator, imaginable ... It is my hope that we have progressed to a point where the American people will understand that a person of color can be a leader for all people in the nation."
Obama is set to accept the nomination on Thursday 45 years to the day after Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I have a dream" speech. In it, he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Like Obama, delegate Theodore Cowan Jr., 25, secretary of the grassroots Utah for Obama group, has a mixed racial heritage, half black and half white.
He said, "The significance of the first half-black president may be lost on me because of my younger age. (But) I see it as a transformation of our political culture."
Cowan said that when he was a youngster in West Jordan, his family had a few problems from a lingering remnant of the Ku Klux Klan in the area, and he experienced a few problems from other youths. But he said, "Altogether, I think Utah is the most racially tolerant state I've ever been in."
Still, he revels in the now-national progress shown by Obama's nomination.
Josie Valdez, a Hispanic delegate who is also the Democratic nominee for Utah's lieutenant governor, said, "This is exciting. It means that America is the land of opportunity for all people, regardless of color or race."
She adds, "It means that we are progressing, not that people of color 'have made it,' but that we are moving forward in our quest for freedom and access to opportunity."
Recent comments
To: dear "samhill" - you have jumped some serious rails here pal. How...
Sawmill | Aug. 23, 2008 at 9:28 p.m.
Why bring back old history in this story. All you have done is bring...
Doug in Louisiana | Aug. 23, 2008 at 8:01 p.m.
The little Wizard of Ob and his communist side kick. If there ever...
Oh please | Aug. 23, 2008 at 6:43 p.m.
- TCU's motivation 11:02 p.m.
- Millsap a surprise on ballot 10:57 p.m.
- Vatican looks to heavens for aliens 10:56 p.m.
- Sports brief 10:56 p.m.
- Leclaire turns aside 31 Oiler shots 10:54 p.m.
- Refinery neighbors want to feel safe 10:54 p.m.
- Hall would rather take a hit 10:54 p.m.
- Correction 10:54 p.m.
- Cougars' defensive hoops clinic 10:52 p.m.
- Utah Jazz gameday 10:51 p.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Utes get extra motivation
- Senators want food tax restored
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
263 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
148 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - RSL rallies to advance
103
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants nationwide will honor...
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
So we are going to spend $1 trillion on free health care? Actually it will...
no one from lehi made it? hmmm..
We read this story in Irkutsk, Russia. The story tells that the Mormon church...
A profoundly different standard exists between legal wrong doing and adequate...
and it is going to be played in the semi's... Does anybody else have a...
"Matheson is a DINO" "He needs to be gone Long gone" "Along with the rest of...
Federal law PROHIBITS anyone EVER convicted of a domestic violence...
Fair question. Here is what I consider ideal: 1) Stick to the enumerated...
The driver is unhurt physically, but lost his wife and unborn child. Who...
Each one of these men is a real hero! God bless the USA!



