Food for Thought

Two nights ago, I witnessed one of the most incredible moments in U.S. history. Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of this country. Many people celebrated on the streets, people celebrated in churches, some people even cried. I simply clapped and smiled. I have supported Barack Obama for the past two years. He was the underdog that overcame all the odds. I'm just starting to realize how big of an accomplishment this is. Throughout his campaign, it was stressed how significant it was to have a black man run for office. But after years of fighting for equality, after years of convincing people that the color of your skin does not define who you are, I was hoping that Obama's race would not be stressed as much. I am a person who sees past the color of one's skin. Both my parents come from Africa, so they were not affected by racism as much as those African Americans who grew up in the segregated South. Their ideals and values are different, though we are all black. Then I spent most of my summers being raised by a white family in New Hampshire through a program called the Fresh Air Fund. There was no diversity in this state; I swear at times I thought I was the black population. But its incredible to look back and see how this one family can welcome a complete stranger who is black into their home and treat me with love and respect. This family opened doors to me, and helped me get into one of the best boarding schools in the country, where I met the two other bloggers on for this site. This family treated me like their own, and we are truly family now. Living with a white family after spending most of my life in black Hispanic neighborhoods gave me an early revelation that we are all the same. So when I see Obama, I don't see a black man or a "black" president. I see a great man who believes he is ready to do great things. I see past the skin. Isn't that what we all want anyway, to see pass the surface?
Sometimes I feel like I let my experiences blind me seeing the other side. Like sometimes I can never understand how an African American man can say he would never date a white girl. I can never understand how people still think that I won't get the promotion I want because of the color of my skin. Its sad to hear that black parents won't use programs like the Fresh Air Fund to send their children to places like New Hampshire, just because the host family is white. Its depressing to see how many doors can be open to so many individiuals if they could see past the skin. Seeing this ignorance, this lack of love, this lack of knowledge really bothers me. After everything I have learned and experience, I wish I could reach out to more people and just educate them. So while many believes that Obama being a black president was huge, I shrugged it off, thinking that it wasnt a big deal. One day I hope its not a big deal. Its hard understanding that not everyone has had the same experiences as me. For some who might have grown up in times of segregation and racism, of hate and oppression, I understand how big Tuesday was for them. I understand those tears I saw coming down an elderly ladies face at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church of Martin Luther King. I understand how important that night was for Cecilia Gaudette; At 106 years old, to have lived through so many different decades in American history, to cast that vote for an African American man. Even today when there were recent plans of an assassination attempt on Obama and other African Americans, it is evident that there is still hate based on race. For an African American to be voted as president, I now see that it is a lot bigger than I had imagined.
Martin Luther King wanted blacks and whites to hold hands like brothers and sisters. I look at the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States of America as a positive step in that direction. This country still has a long way to go. I wish more people has experiences like mine, but that can't happen for everyone. All I can hope is that Barack Obama's time in office opens new doors on how we all view one another. I know that his accomplishment can allow young African American to dream of being President and knowing that its possible. I hope that if and when we do have another African American President, I hope that we don't give him the label of the "2nd black" president. Rather, I would like to see more strides of leaving that race label out, and just looking at him/her for the accomplishment of becoming simply President.
So congrats to Barack Obama, I hope his accomplishment inspires a nation into a new era, a era of little ignorance, of little hate, of no skin color, of more equality, of more peace, of more love.
Lets make it happen!