In early June 1988 I traded a poster with the picture of NDP leader Ed Broadbent for a Jesse Jackson for President one in the Los Angeles airport. The young woman with whom I traded was disappointed that Jackson had just lost the California primary, but we both were pleased that he had done as well as he did.
The poster is one of my prized possessions, up there with my button from the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. What a wonder, then, to see Americans embrace and vote for Barack Obama yesterday, and watch Jesse Jackson watch Obama's impressive acceptance speech with tears running down his face.
Yes, Obama's victory is something that we could only dream about in 1963, or in 1988. But it is not just a victory for African Americans and other people of colour. It is a victory of the good side of humankind, a beacon of what we can do when we work together. Now, the real job begins...
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