History...

November 4th 2008, approximately 11PM Eastern time... Barack Obama becomes the president-elect of the United States. For the first time in United States history, the President will be someone other than a White male. This is a day that many people thought would never come. This could never happen, only on TV or in the movies... But it has happened, and it will change our history forever.

Just a few hundred years ago, Africans were stolen from their homeland and forced into labor here in the Americas. Since that time, we have overcome many obstacles. From becoming freed men, earning equal wages, equal rights to education, equal opportunites for jobs and housing... Earning the right to vote. All of these things have been fought over. People cried, clawed, fought, sweated, bled, and died so that we as a people could simply be equal. And although I was around for none of these things, I now see the culmination of this work.

Growing up, adults always like to know... What do you want to be when you grow up? No matter the answer a child gives, it usually earns the response: "You can be anything you want if you try hard enough" or something similar. As a black youth, how many times have you heard that, only to think to yourself "How come there has never been a Black President?" It is a sad occurrence when you think about it... Hopes and dreams faded before they can even begin...

But today, less than 24 hours after a Black man has been elected to lead the nation, I sit here prouder to be an American than ever before. Especially as an African-American. I feel joy at the fact that in a few centuries, most of our nation has been able to overcome a deeply rooted racial divide. I feel grateful for all of the non-Black voters who were able to look past skin color and simply choose who they felt was the best candidate. I feel pride for all of the Black voters who came out and voted like never before, a privilege that, as a people, we have not used as often as we should. I somehow feel a sense of accomplishment, no doubt similar to the one felt by those who lived during the time of Rosa Parks' bus ride, or MLK's speeches. This is a historic milestone, not only for African-Americans, but for America itself.

But this accomplishment does not come without obstacles. President Obama will be inheriting a country that is in economic turmoil, a country that needs to improve it's foreign relations, and a country that should be seeking to break it's addiction to the oil that is killing our planet. This will not be an easy road ahead. President Obama will have to prove to the rest of the country, and the world, that he was in fact the right choice. He will be under more of a spotlight and under more scrutiny than any other man who has graced the Oval Office, but I believe that he is prepared for this journey.

In the words of Sam Cooke:
"It's been a long, a long time coming, but I know...
Change gonna come. Oh, yes it will"



~SJ