“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.” - Barack Obama.

When I stepped out of my doorstep this morning, I was a new man. When I stepped on the soils of the United States, the same soil I stepped on yesterday, it was a new land. When I looked up in the sky, I saw a new sky. My heart became larger. My breath became lighter. My shoulder became broader. It was all because of what we did yesterday when in one voice we said, “Yes, we can.”

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I am more than what I was. I am smarter than the statistics said. I am loved more than I thought. There are more doors open than I believed. The sunrise also shines for me. There are more rainbows in the sky than the eyes could see.

The mortgage is still not paid. The job is still not safe. The schools are not yet improved. The shoes are worn out. The coats are torn. The streams are still brown.
Yes, I know.

I will still die before the vast majority of Americans. I am still prone to more diseases than other Americans. I would still drop out of high school before graduation.
Yes, I know.

But because of yesterday, this is a new world and a new me.

Yesterday was good for Barack Obama but it was especially good for me in many ways. For yesterday, America made me see its promises live. It made me believe in a very endearing way in these United States.

Yesterday was good for America because many like me finally got the proof that in America all men are valued. That with hard work and fortitude, everyman’s potential can be realized in these United States.

Yesterday was good for me because now I can finally relax. I can confidently build my nest in America ; blast to high pitches my sweet songs for America ; bag my shells from the old country for a yard sale and; buy myself a befitting tomb near the banks of the Mississippi River .

Yesterday was good for my children too, Ijeamaka and Ogonna, for they will grow up in a country where the past is atoned and the future is reasoned. Where if you do not agree with the phases of the moon, you can get a ladder and climb up to repair it.

Because of yesterday, inside a store, I will now be seen not just as a possible thief but also as a potential presidential candidate.

Because of yesterday, out in the street, I will now be seen not just as a possible gang member but also as a potential great president.

Because of yesterday, in my dreams, I will cruise up in the sky and even beyond, soaring and singing about the limitless of my reach.

Because of yesterday, in painful moments, I will update the history books of my mind, saying that though my forefathers were enslaved, my children can be the emancipators of our nation.

Because of yesterday, inside my heart, I will rejoice as often as I want for finally the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have come to pass.

Yesterday made Malcolm smile in his grave, the way he used to before his teacher told him he could only be a carpenter.

Yesterday made Medgar Evers grin in his vault, the way he used to while praising the Lord before he was shot by hater’s sniper. And so did Rev. George Wesley Lee, Lamar Smith, Emmett Louis Till, Vernon Ferdinand Dahmer and many others.

Yesterday made Addie MaeCollins, Denise McNair, Carle Robertson and Cynthia Wesley all glow up in paradise just as they were glowing when Ku Klux Klan fire bomb went off and consumed them at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.

Yesterday made many who died in the struggle for equal rights look down from heaven and joyously exclaim, “That’s my country.”

Yesterday made many beaten, jailed, and hurt in the fight for Civil Right to baptize their badges of honor into badges of forgiveness.

Yesterday was a new day across the world because of the special way America stretched its series of Only in America feats.

America said to the world, I appreciate all my children and I let them go however high they want to go.

America said to the world, I outsource not just works but also dreams and ideals of democracy which have continued to keep me special amongst the nations of the world.

America said to the Black world, within your ranks are also the ones who will erase the memory of Mugabe, Abacha, Idi Amin, Bokassa and Mobutu.

America said to the rest of the world, handle all your children well, especially your black children, for they can bring healing, transfiguration and sunshine like no other.

Thank you, America. From the deepest chambers of my heart I say, thank you.

Thank you for the job is done. You have shown courage and grace over doubts and fear.

Thank you, America.

History had its BC - Before Christ. History had its AD – The year of the Lord. Today, because of what we did yesterday, history now has its BO and AO – Before Obama and After Obama.

Thank you.