The Democratic National Convention provided a week of searing speeches — speeches that left you feeling the thrill of a changing America.

Sen. Ted Kennedy gave it a rousing start. This, the brother of the only Catholic president we've had, was heating up the crowd to support what he hopes will be the first black president.

Then came Michelle Obama, painting a picture of a man totally dedicated to family and his duties of office. Listening to her speak gave the impression that she is possibly Barack Obama's greatest asset.

The next day, Hillary Clinton gave the most rousing speech one could imagine. She spoke of the historical significance of this year's election. She, naturally, alluded to the fact that for the very first time in American history, both a woman and a black man headed to the top of the ticket of a major party. She had lost to Obama and she urged her followers to put their full support behind him.

The following day, while the Democratic Party was taking its delegate count, she interrupted them. She took the microphone and insisted they go ahead and announce that Obama would be the party representative for president.

Then she let her husband speak. His was a speech that drew the same excitement as hers. He made it clear he was proud to be part of such a history-making affair and that he would do all he could to get Obama into the White House.

The crowd had become very much involved with each speaker. Convention-goers chanted and cheered nearly every statement. They all seemed proud that they were witnessing history in the making and were a part of it.

It made me go back and remember the changes that have taken place during my lifetime — a time during which only the upper middle class could afford to send their kids to college. The fact is, most black kids didn't finish high school. It was get out and get a job as soon as you could. And, in the rural South, that often came before graduating from elementary school.

This, too, is what Obama addressed when he took the stage, to thundering applause. He spoke at length about the failing economy over the last eight years.

Obama covered the many changes that he intended to make — the first already taking place, that of a black man representing a major party in the run for the presidency.

And he made his speech on the 45th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, to an integrated audience.

— Boyce Clark of Los Angeles is a former Oxnard resident and writes occasional columns for The Star.