Obama 'fulfilling a prophecy,' delegate says

Alan Mauldin

August 30, 2008 11:32 pm

— MOULTRIE — The historical significance of Barack Obama’s acceptance Thursday night of his party’s nomination for the presidency wasn’t lost on two Southwest Georgians.
The Rev. I.L. Mullins Sr., who was in Washington, D.C., for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech 45 years prior to Thursday, said that to him Obama’s nomination is a partial fulfillment of the slain civil rights leader’s hope for the country.
“His dream was that all men — women too — will realize that we have a right to be a part of the growth and development of America, (that) we are to be recognized as human beings, segregation would be wiped out, America will be a better place for all of us,” said Mullins, who is minister at First Missionary Baptist Church in Thomasville. “That’s what he was talking about.”
Obama’s nomination was “terrific,” said Mullins, who was in his early 30s in 1963 when he made the trip to the nation’s capital. He said that a woman standing next to him began chanting “tell me your dream” and he also began saying it.
“Everybody’s saying it’s history, and it is history to have him accept this role on the day that Martin Luther King marched with me in Washington,” Mullins said of Obama. “If he is elected president of America he will carry through some of his ideas and policies, and the people will join in and help him make the U.S.A. a better place to live.
“We need Obama. It is time to get away from some of that ‘I am’ business and talk about us. I think he’s going to be a great president. He’s smart, he’s energetic. I’m proud of him.”
For Aaron Johnson, who was elected as a Clinton delegate but voted for Obama, the six days he spent in Denver gave him a chance to sit with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who is the last living speaker from the 1963 event. Along with the Rev. Joseph Lowery, Lewis discussed the historical implications of the event.
“Just to sit there and be able to listen to Dr. Lowery and Mr. Lewis. ... They knew this day would come, but they just didn’t believe they would see this day in their lifetimes,” he said.
Johnson, a 1992 Colquitt County High School graduate who works in community affairs for the Fulton County Commission chairman and has worked for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and other city elected officials, also heard a speech by Martin Luther King III and his introduction by his sister, the Rev. Bernice King.
“It was everything I thought it was going to be,” he said of the convention in Denver, where he stayed Sunday through Friday. “The bigger point for me was it was exactly 45 years after Dr. King’s speech” when Obama made his acceptance speech.
“That made it better for me in that it was the fulfilling of a prophecy.”
Johnson said he also was “excited” to cast a vote on the floor on Wednesday.
“It’s marked in history of who actually voted for Obama,” he said.
And Johnson also considered Obama’s nomination as a fulfillment of King’s dream.
“Absolutely,” he said. “A lot of what Dr. King spoke about is unfolding as we speak. It’s just the things you grow up hearing about are beginning to happen.”
Johnson also was impressed with his candidate’s speech Thursday and feels that Obama has a good chance of winning the election.
“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It’s going to be a hard-fought race. (But) he’s going after states most Democratic candidates never go after. Barack sees an opportunity for Georgia to be in play. It actually is in play.
“The biggest thing that’s going to come out of this race is we had the largest number of new registered voters in Fulton County since 1988. In Georgia we’ve had the largest number of registered voters and the largest primary turnout since 1984.”

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