Bon Jovi taught us that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Unfortunately, that's very, very true.

In 2008, with Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate, the United States appeared to be turning a corner. We were talking about race—actually talking about it—and working together to try and make some changes. Both candidates were turning attention back to issues on the home front after a decade spent fighting in other countries and trying to introduce to them a fair and democratic system…when we didn't even have that for ourselves.

When Obama won the election, the country literally rejoiced. Take a few minutes to watch this video—people were celebrating all over the world, talking about how their dreams came true, and they had a renewed faith in America and hope for the country's future. Look at Jesse Jackson, a civil rights leader, crying in Chicago when the election was called for Obama.

It was a super powerful moment in American history.

But then, all this time later, we live in a world where police officers are on trial because Black men died in their custody. Cities like Baltimore have seen riots in the streets that appear to be something out of a 1960's news clip. And North Carolina and Mississippi have passed state laws that legalize segregation and discriminatory actions against members of the LGBTQ community.

Think back to that video we just had you watch, to the average people crying tears of joy and celebrating across the globe. On that night, the world believed things would finally start to change, to get better—but even Obama acknowledged, on such a historic evening, that this was the first step in a very long journey.

So, in other words, Bon Jovi was spot on—"yesterday keeps comin' around." But the way people felt in that video, the happiness and the faith and the excitement? We need to cultivate those feelings now, when it's hard, because that's how things really will change.