"WE" WON?

I've heard and read examples of exuberance that, once again, reveal that some milestones are perceived as odd or exceptional. Will they ever be the rule? Will they ever just be normal, regular, matter-of-fact occurrences that certainly deserve notice, but happen all of the time? Are we still playing catch-up, not only in society, but in our own minds?
Funny. When you're suddenly celebrated in places where you were once reviled; welcomed in places where you were once banned; elevated to heights at which you were deemed too ignorant, unsuited, or not good enough to reach, for a moment you forget all about the past, hope expands, and the future seems bright. Someone or some organization has suddenly, often reluctantly decided, for whatever reason that you're okay. You can play. You can come on in. You can have a shot at that to which "they" have had easy access all along. The first misstep you make, however, is not only an indictment of you, but a reason for a sarcastic "I told you so"; a reason to revert to the historic practice of excluding you and people like you. What you don't know is that the minute you enter the game, the rules don't change, they just don't apply to you. You have a different set of rules that count on you forgetting all about integrity, positive ethics and values, and honesty. You have to remember that every elevation; every platform is not good. Some are mere experiments and the bets are against you. You have to know that, sometimes, open doors are politically, or economically motivated. It's a shame when you've been excluded so long that you become skeptical about taking a step through, or up.

A victory for one person of color, no matter where they are from, has for a long time been embraced as a victory for ALL people of color. One person does something good or newsworthy, and we all seem to own it as if we had a direct hand in it. We act as if the celebrated person is a long lost cousin. It's like we all yell, "See? We're worthy! We're beautiful! We're human!" as if we didn't know it before. We're shocked, and in complete awe when one of "our" names is called. Perhaps the shock is understandable. This is of course, America.
We don't pay attention to some things--don't even KNOW about them-- until one of us is brave enough to get involved and share information that was never actually hidden. When one of "us" wins; when one of "us" attains a coveted place, all of our eyes focus, not only on their specific ability, but their very lives. Then we watch with anxiety as the chosen one moves through the new/old territory, praying that no scandalous information surfaces. We pray they don't do anything stupid to embarrass or shame the rest of us, and send us 222 steps backward. Why is that? We raise politicians, celebrities, athletes, and people with varying talents to super human status. We then, maybe without intending to, strip them of their humanity. We have so much to prove to "them" that we heap the weight of our systematically attained poor self worth on the shoulders of anyone who seems to have achieved success. Instead of knowing ourselves that we are, and have always been capable, worthy, and valuable, we often wait to be validated by someone else who is neither the source nor the catalyst of our abilities. We have been so conditioned to believe we have not arrived until we infiltrate arenas that were once stringently reserved for others, that we fail to properly celebrate, appreciate and promote the great things that occur every single day in our communities.