The media today is (as one might have expected) putting much of its focus on the racial aspect of Barack Obama's historic win. I understand that, I empathize with that. Some of my tears last night (and today) were shed for my dear friend T's three boys, all of whom are extraordinarily gifted, and who now really know that anything is possible, regardless of the color of their skin.

It's important to hold and honor that aspect of Obama's victory. It's also important to acknowledge that this isn't a win just for Black people.

It is a win for all people of color, for queers, for gimps, for young people, for women, for academics and scientists, for 1^st generation Americans. It is a win for all people who have been oppressed and disenfranchised, historically or just during the past 8 years.

For we who have been systematically excluded from the political process (because we are not straight, able-bodied, middle-aged rich male WASPs), this victory is proof that we can join together and change the world.

I live in a swing precinct of a swing county of a swing state (Pinellas County, FL—the St. Petersburg/Clearwater metro area—I'm in the west-central part of the county, the absolute end of the "I-4 corridor").

I am a lesbian quadriplegic. The policies of the last eight years have prevented me from living independently, from getting a job without losing my health care. So I fought for Barack Obama. I made hundreds of phone calls, I went along on canvassing shifts to keep my door-knocking friends company, I marched in the St. Pete Pride Parade on the hottest f'ing day of the year.

My hard work, and that of the thousands of other Obama volunteers here, paid off: We turned Pinellas, and Florida, blue.

And today we are not just vindicated, but empowered. We know, now, how to organize ourselves. And we know that we can truly make a difference. Our communities are now more communal, our voices more united. We have had this power all along, but Barack showed it to us. That is a gift whose repercussions will still be felt years from now.

So yes, by all means, we must acknowledge the history being made with our first Black President (and First Family). This is a win for African-Americans. But we can't stop there, because to do so would be to disregard Barack Obama's real message and importance. This is a win for America. This is a win for democracy. This is a win for those who value peace and common sense.

This is a win for us all.

"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.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America."

Transcript: Obama's Acceptance Speech