Several times over the last few years, my mother and I have had the same conversation. It essentially begins with me complaining about some barrier I’ve met in my organizing work, a conversation I’ve had with an ignorant opponent (or worse, ally), or some other frustration I’ve met at work that reminds me how important my work truly is. At these times, my mother will remind me how far we’ve come in what used to sound to me like excuses. But, as she has explained to me and as I now understand, she wasn’t telling me stop stop pushing, but just reminding me that there had been others pushing behind me, effectively pushing me up. She was not telling me not to stop working hard, just to not forget who else already had. To the same end, I have cried tears of happiness, pride and inspiration several times this morning, but I have also been struck by how far we still have to go.

As I watched the acceptance speech last night and looked on in pride as our new first family took the stage, I was met with a sobering reality- bullet proof glass lining the stage. It was all at once a terrifying reminder of what some would be willing to do and a relief that our President-Elect, his incredible wife and their two beautiful daughters were being protected. But that was not where my disappointment and fear arose. It has been 41 years since the historic Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, ruling any race-based legal restrictions on marriage to be unconstiutional. Married in 1961, Barack Obama’s parents could have been torn from the very same marital bed as Mildred and Richard Loving were in Virginia in 1958. The Loving’s marriage violated the “Racial Integrity Act of 1924.”

The Lovings pleaded guilty and received a sentence of one year in prison, which was suspended, provided that they leave the state of Virginia. The case was fought all the way to the Supreme Court, and set a national precedent. Yesterday, the very same state of Virginia elected Barack Obama, son of a white woman and a black man to be our next President of the United States. Look how far we’ve come. Sadly, neither Richard or Mildred Loving lived to see this historic moment, though Mildred, who passed away earlier this year, knew how far we still had to go. Last year, on June 12th, the anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision now celebrated as “Loving Day,” 69 year old Mildred Loving released a statement for Freedomtomarry.org, which concluded with the following:

My generation was bitterly divided over something that should have been so clear and right.  The majority believed that what the judge said, that it was God’s plan to keep people apart, and that government should discriminate against people in love.  But I have lived long enough now to see big changes.  The older generation’s fears and prejudices have given way, and today’s young people realize that if someone loves someone they have a right to marry.

Surrounded as I am now by wonderful children and grandchildren, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the “wrong kind of person” for me to marry.  I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry.  Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people’s civil rights.

Yesterday, we won a historic battle. The American people said that they were tired of the same divisive politics and that they were ready to be ushered into a new era by a man who inspires collaboration, change and hope. But there were historic defeats as well. Both Arizona and Florida voted to ban same sex marriages and as of this writing, California’s polls are still too close to call, but are looking about the same. So as we celebrate today, I look forward to President Obama’s Supreme Court appointments. I look forward to supporting couples in Arizona, Florida and California as they take their cases all the way to the Supreme Court and score historic precedents that will finally secure the right to love for all.