In the words of Nas: “If this offends you, then it’s supposed to.”
Five days ago, the United States elected its first Black President, and I am very proud. Unfortunately, I feel that this election has brought out the worst in some people. I’m hoping that these bigots represent an exception, after all, Obama did win by a large margin. However, based on my experiences (both first and second hand) during this past week, I’m not inclined to believe that things have changed.
On Wednesday, I was so excited especially after talking to my grandparents. I remember my grandfather telling me a story of how he had to take literacy tests when he first started voting. To hear the excitement in his voice after the election made me feel so great. I wanted to share his story with the world, but there was no outlet for me to do so. That same night, I went to class (in which I am one of two Black people), and everyone was so hesitant to talk about the election. My professor (an Obama supporter) tried to bring it up, but most of the people had nothing to say. I felt silenced by everyone else’s animosity, and I felt like that the whole week.
I am tired of being quiet. I refuse to be silenced by the hatred and ignorance of bigots. This country was built on the backs and by the hands of my BLACK ancestors, and they did not give me the freedom to speak so that you could take it away with your racist sentiments. I don’t care what you think about me voting for Barack Obama. I want you to see the smile on my face. You bigots deserve to be angry and disappointed. We’ve experienced lifetimes (yes multiple) of anger and disappointment.
So to “my friends” who are salty about the election, thank you for showing me your true colors.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
America's Victory and Our Responsibility
As I reflect upon this historical moment, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride and love for my black people, but also for my country. I have never really considered myself a patriot, but tonight I can say that I’m proud to be an American.
Barack Obama’s victory is definitely a victory for all of us – blacks and all minorities, whites, children, women, men. The fact that a black man is now President of a predominantly white country speaks to the progress that our country has made, and for that, I am particularly elated.
My emotions are great, but so is my grounding in reality. I do not mean any of this to take away from the greatness of what we have all witnessed on November 4, 2008. However, we as black people need to make sure that we do not place unrealistic expectations on our President. I am not saying that he should forget about us. But he has a lot of people to keep in mind because we are not the only ones struggling in this country.
Often times we place too much responsibility on our leaders and none on ourselves. Yes, we voted, but that’s only a part of the process of change. We cannot expect Obama to fix an eight-year mess overnight. We also cannot expect him to do it alone. I heard one media personality say that we should make sure that we hold Obama to his promises, and we should. But we should not hold him to unrealistic demands. For example, we are not getting reparations, and we need to let that go. Instead we should focus on community building and our role in helping Obama bring about change.
What worries me most about the responses of some of my peers to this election is their misinformed (or uninformed) perception that racism is over now. We do not need to become complacent. Racism is not over. We should look at our progress toward equality as marathon, not a 200 meter dash. We have come a long way in the race (no pun intended), but we still have a long way to go. The worst thing we can do is think that racism is over now because we have a black President. Instead we should use this moment as inspiration to keep running the marathon to end racism and all inequality.
No one should be expected to change the world by him/herself. I believe Obama can change the world, we have to help him. An America that is void of inequality…now that is the American Dream.
Barack Obama’s victory is definitely a victory for all of us – blacks and all minorities, whites, children, women, men. The fact that a black man is now President of a predominantly white country speaks to the progress that our country has made, and for that, I am particularly elated.
My emotions are great, but so is my grounding in reality. I do not mean any of this to take away from the greatness of what we have all witnessed on November 4, 2008. However, we as black people need to make sure that we do not place unrealistic expectations on our President. I am not saying that he should forget about us. But he has a lot of people to keep in mind because we are not the only ones struggling in this country.
Often times we place too much responsibility on our leaders and none on ourselves. Yes, we voted, but that’s only a part of the process of change. We cannot expect Obama to fix an eight-year mess overnight. We also cannot expect him to do it alone. I heard one media personality say that we should make sure that we hold Obama to his promises, and we should. But we should not hold him to unrealistic demands. For example, we are not getting reparations, and we need to let that go. Instead we should focus on community building and our role in helping Obama bring about change.
What worries me most about the responses of some of my peers to this election is their misinformed (or uninformed) perception that racism is over now. We do not need to become complacent. Racism is not over. We should look at our progress toward equality as marathon, not a 200 meter dash. We have come a long way in the race (no pun intended), but we still have a long way to go. The worst thing we can do is think that racism is over now because we have a black President. Instead we should use this moment as inspiration to keep running the marathon to end racism and all inequality.
No one should be expected to change the world by him/herself. I believe Obama can change the world, we have to help him. An America that is void of inequality…now that is the American Dream.
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