How far we've come. How far we still need to go.

Stephen David speaking during an anti-discrimination rally on Purdue University's Campus. (Photo by Steven Yang)

The words “I have a dream” have long since resonated since they were spoken by Martin Luther King on the steps of our nation's capitol. It's been about 45 years since then and we will be sending our first black president to the same capitol to lead our nation. This is without a doubt a testament to our nation's progress and it will forever be known as a moment of great importance in American history, but we cannot be blinded of the road still ahead by the successes behind us. We still have a long way to go.

The photograph above was taken during an anti-discrimination rally at Purdue University, which recently found itself victim to discriminative acts. One of those acts involved the tree where the rally took place, which was defaced with racial slurs against Obama. The university condoned such acts, but groups such as the local NAACP and the Purdue Queer Student Union feel that more needs to be done. These events may be local, but that doesn't mean that such acts of discrimination are isolated. Discrimination continues to take place in this country and the rest of the world, and the events that recently took place at this university are reminders of this fact.

I've been seeing a lot of “Yes We Did”'s lately. This is of course referring to Obama's campaign slogan “Yes We Can.” Now that Obama is president-elect, it seems fitting to say that we did something, but we have to remember that we still have a lot more to do.