Obama’s epic presidential campaign climaxed with a rally of 85,000 in Virginia. It was remarkable and fitting that his journey to the White House concluded in the state which led the way in institutionalizing slavery, fought a civil war to preserve it, and promoted Massive Resistance to school integration after one hundred years of Jim Crow segregation.

The last Democrat to win Virginia was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. That year he had signed the Civil Rights Act, observing with prophetic accuracy to his press secretary, Bill Moyers, “We have lost the South for a generation.” Republicans won seven of the following ten presidential elections.

Journalist Sidney Blumenthal writes that when Lady Bird Johnson traveled south to campaign for her husband, the Ku Klux Klan tried to blow up a railroad bridge in Mississippi. In Columbia, South Carolina, Klansmen burned a cross and thousands of hecklers assembled before the state capitol to jeer. Signs read: ‘Black Bird, Go Home,’ and ‘Johnson Is a Nigger Lover.’ In Charleston, 10,000 people gathered to shout her down.

Just four decades later we live in a different America. As the polls closed older voters who experienced the years of segregation and struggle for full citizenship were overcome with emotion, hardly daring to believe until victory became certain that such a moment could occur in their lifetime. My co-worker, Rev. Tee Turner recalled growing up in Richmond, barred from sitting at the front of the bus or entering certain stores, and marching after King was assassinated. “I fought for this day but never believed it would happen.”

The first presidential debate took place on the campus of the University of Mississippi – "Ole Miss "– notorious for the riots that broke out when James Meredith enrolled as its first black student in 1962. Kennedy sent federal troops and U.S. Marshalls to restore order. Not wishing to emphasize race, the Obama campaign played down the historic symbolism of the debate’s venue. But the South, more than any part of the country in recent decades, has struggled painfully but often openly and honestly to come to terms with its history of racial oppression.

White working people in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, stereotyped by the press as harboring racist views, also voted for Obama. And while pundits cautioned endlessly about the “Bradley effect”, exit polls showed that McCain’s age was a bigger negative factor than Obama’s background.

As the magnitude of the Democratic victory became clear, Congressman John Lewis from Georgia, a veteran of the civil rights movement, told ABC news, “We are witnessing a non-violent revolution…a revolution of values and ideas.” He said the nation is ready to lay down the burden of race and that we are in the process of building a multiracial democracy. “It’s a new day for America.”

The election represented a huge generational shift. Millions of young first-time voters, who overwhelmingly supported Obama, recognized in the president-elect a person who reflects their own multicultural reality and world view. Suleka Deevi, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, says what matters most to her peers is not Obama’s plans “but what he symbolizes – that we can make a difference.” The vast network of volunteers mobilized by the campaign is an unprecedented potential resource for positive change in the country.

That a black man could live in the White House is a stunning reality that opens new horizons for every young person of color. But are we now living in a post-racial society? By no means. Great disparities in income, wealth and opportunity persist. While Americans are becoming more comfortable with diversity in general, racial and economic segregation actually increased in many urban areas during recent decades.

Obama’s victory represents the triumph of the civil rights movement. But the task of building a just and inclusive America where every child has the opportunity of living in a safe and healthy neighborhood and of attending an excellent school will take far greater political will and transformation of our culture.

Stephen Carter, a law professor at Yale, wrote in the New York Times this summer that the structure of American politics makes it increasingly difficult to address the plight of those for whom race and poverty have become inexorably intertwined. “Affirmative action represents a way to pretend we are doing something – what I have long called racial justice on the cheap.” He calls for racial justice to become the centerpiece of American politics, with both parties willing to rethink their positions.

“We are all in this together,” became a mantra of Obama’s campaign. No question, everyone is needed to tackle the great challenges ahead. A priority for the new president will be to seek out and welcome the ideas and insights of those on the other side of the political divide – even some of those whose views may challenge the prevailing culture. Democrats hungry for power and frustrated by the policies of the previous administration could easily sabotage the collaboration that is essential to tackle the toughest issues.

A new administration with a listening ear and welcoming attitude may encourage courageous leadership to emerge in unexpected places. Unlikely allies may step forward. As Robert Caro, Lyndon Johnson’s biographer notes, Johnson was a surprising champion of racial equality. During his first 20 years, 1937 through 1956, in the House and Senate, he had voted against every civil rights bill.

Obama has perhaps the best chance of any recent president to galvanize the political will and grassroots energy for profound social and structural change. In a society that still demands racial descriptions he is a black man. Yet the new American president carries equal measures of European and African blood in his veins. He understands that every person has a story that must be respected.

Can Obama build a bridge of understanding between liberals and conservatives? Can he facilitate real dialogue between blacks and Spanish speaking Americans? Will he affirm Colin Powell’s challenge to the country that a young Muslim boy should also be able to dream of becoming president? He calls for a new culture of responsibility – for African American fathers and bankers on Wall Street and he dares to speak of sacrifice – something conspicuously absent after 9/11 when we were simply encouraged to go and shop. Will he confront Americans honestly with the tough choices we must make to put our house in order and build a sustainable future?

The task of any president is impossible and for Obama expectations are unreasonably high – especially outside the U.S. But for now, in Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy, one can only rejoice.