Democracy displays a great victory against racial prejudice in the U.S.

For the first time in history, an African American receives the keys to the white house

“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.”  Martin Luther King, five years before his assassination in Menphis, April 4th, 1968.

The third Monday of January is the day chosen by the United Status of America to honor the memory of Reverend Marin Luther King Jr. (1929_1968). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is considered one of the fundamental pillars of the civil rights movement, particularly for African Americans in the 50s and 60.

The concepts of civil disobedience, resistance and pacific protest held by King have marked several other struggles from different people around the world, such as the polish Lech Walesa, the Guatemalan Rigoberta Menchú, and the South African Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela.

This year, the celebration turned into a symbol of hope, once it turned out to be one day before Barack Obama was sworn in office as the first African American President. Forty years later, Reverend King’s dream has come true: a black man will walk freely through the halls of the white house holding the most important political position in the United States.

History is in one of its most important and astonishing chapters in this recent era of democracy. As product of free elections, millions of people overcame their racial and cultural differences to hand the power to the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, which has become a landmark in the turbulent history of racial relations in the US.

The political analysts and sociologist have been talking about an important step in the fight against inequality and they highlight the democratic system as a tool which has enabled to shorten the distance between blacks and whites.

On Tuesday, January 20th, Barack Obama was sworn in office as the president of the United States, on the steps of the Capitol. And he did it by putting his right hand over the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used  in 1861, becoming the 44th president in the large democratic career of his country.

Before the millions of people who packed the National Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument and beyond, Obama pronounced the words that will be kept on the memory of every American.

For historians, this is an example that, throughout history the great struggles for human rights and the heroic work of hundreds of leaders who sought equality for marginalized minorities, do not fall into oblivion, because the seed of hope that was planted in the hearts and minds of thousands of children and young people at some point may come to realize those dreams. Moreover, it is a comforting symbol for those who today fight for causes such as the pacifist Martin Luther King, and that it is possible with effort and dedication, to achieve respect, tolerance between cultures, justice and, consequently, social peace.

Text: Gabriela Lara
English Version: Patricia Mamede

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