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I've heard talking heads say "isn't it interesting" or "isn't it appropriate" that Martin Luther King Day was the day before the inauguration of our first black president.

No, it's much more than that.  This is not just passing trivia.  It's as if somebody is trying to get our attention, to say "pay attention — this is important." It's as if the divine hand of God recognized the power and the importance of this moment, recognized that we cannot separate these two ideas. The fact that the most powerful person in the world is now an African-American cannot be separated from the dream that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. breathed life into.

That dream, when presented back in 1963, was as audacious as it was hopeful. And last year when the question was asked — Can America overcome bigotry and hate, can we overcome the forces that serve to divide us and separate us from one another, can we overcome the trivia and the lies that dominate political campaigns, can Americans vote for a black man to lead our country and the free world? — the answer came back quite clearly, in a way that shook the very foundations of our history: Yes, we can.

Don Ness is the mayor of Duluth.