Martin Luther King never asked Lyndon Baines Johnson to inspire him. Susan B. Anthony never asked the political leaders of her day what she should be doing. When we talk about the future of progressive politics, we need to establish, right up front, that the activist does not wait for the politician.

Let’s be clear on our history. Martin Luther King never asked Lyndon Baines Johnson to inspire him. Martin Luther King never called up John Kennedy and said, “What should I be doing? I don’t feel like walking over the bridge today.” It didn’t happen that way.

Susan B. Anthony never asked the political leaders of her day what she should be doing or whether she should be inspired. Neither did Elizabeth Cady Stanton, thank God. They did not need the imprimatur of the powers that be in order to change the political landscape.

Let’s be grateful that Rachel Carson never asked, “Should I or should I not wait until a politician tells me to make a clarion call about the sacredness of creation and our responsibility to care for it?”

When we talk about the future of progressive politics, we need to establish, right up front, that the activist does not wait for the politician.

We say, “Obama, we love you. So many have worked so hard to get you in, and we set the foundation so you could get in.” The idea that a former community organizer who just paid off his student loans could beat a three-generation military hero who has so many houses he doesn’t know how many houses he has is quite a startling fact.

Obama didn’t win because he’s witty, though he is.

He didn’t win because he’s smart, though he is.

He didn’t win because he’s handsome, though he is.

He didn’t win because is wife is fabulous, though she is.

He didn’t win for those reasons.

He won because you made progressive politics what the American people wanted.

Representative Keith Ellison is a Democrat from Minnesota and the first Muslim American elected to Congress. This is adapted from a speech he gave at The Progressive’s 100th anniversary celebration on May 2 in Madison, Wisconsin. To read the entire speech, which ran in The Progressive's July issue, and to read great articles by Howard Zinn and Dennis Kucinich and Dolorest Huerta in that same issue, subscribe today to The Progressive by clicking here.