This is what I said then:
So what now? We have a new President, Barrack Obama who happens to be of Euro-African decent. What does this mean to the Black community? What does this mean to anybody?
First, I must admit that I did not vote for this man. I had my reasons and I followed my convictions. Now that my president is selected, I support him through and through.
Second, I watched his inaugural speech. He touched on some good points that I would like to mention here.
Our president said, "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met" (Welt Online, 2009, ¶ 5)
As I listened to the words the first thing that came to my mind is how are these challenges going to be met. I also noticed that his words sounded very similar to George Bush's when he described the US involvement in the war on terror--how he said the war would be long and hard.
My answer to this question of how to meet the challenges we face as a nation came when for the first time I heard a person in public besides myself mesh the fabric of the history of all of our ancestors. President Obama in my mind united our past so that we can work in the present to build a more secure future.
Obama seems to realize, as he should in his position, that in order to succeed in keeping America great we must graft our branches into the root of commonality. All of our ancestors suffered, whether by the whip, as President Obama puts it, or from the bloody feet of pioneers trekking to new homes in the west.
He even connected the wide-eyed new citizens stepping off boats in New York with the hope to make a better life for themselves. If he can rally us together despite our political differences, then I do believe in his Yes WE CAN!!
Third, and I might add it may sound a bit silly, I saw the fulfillment of a dream in the election that moved me in a way that I had not anticipated. Having a person of color in office lurched my mind forward. Monday, MLK day, my family and I listened to the speech given on that faithful day way back when by Dr. Martin Luther King.
It was uncanny how much President Obama resembled Dr. King in speech pattern--the rising and falling in tone and stressing of words.(I listened to President Bush's inaugural address and he did the same but that is besides the point.)
A local radio show played one of the president’s speeches and mixed it with Dr. King's words and the two almost mirrored each other. Now, that is not what made me think he fulfilled a dream, referring to the president.
When the president said
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed – why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath (2009, ¶ 32).
I realized that just a few decades ago a Black person cold not even eat in the same place as a White, but now as Dr. King wanted, a person of color can now lead the most powerful nation in the world.
We have no excuses now though some would say otherwise. Obama set a standard of excellence that all men can march to—and women—if we just do it. It is up to Obama, and each of us to change the view of the people around us to become a more changed society—a change for civil peace.
So, God bless President Obama. He is going to need every bit of prayer there is to give to succeed.
So what does this mean to Black people? It means the absolute same thing it means for all others. President Obama is the president of the United States of America and he stands for all Americans.
