I kept my children home from school today because today is an important day in their history. A day that changed human history and one they may never see again. The day inspiration took office.
I am watching TV, reading all the Facebook status changes, and having a very poignant conversation with my mother. She is telling me of times when she had to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus when a white man or woman would get on. Of classrooms where she had to share one microscope amongst 30 children because of sub-standard educational conditions. Of having to sit at the colored only dining counters and drinking from colored water fountains. Of watching black men being herded onto trucks to being driven to the cotton fields, not as slaves, but free men, being paid poverty wages. She was laughing and joyfully sharing stories of her past and it came to me.
In the words of my friend John Pointer, we elected inspiration. She was downright bubbly. She was hopeful, chatting with a vibrancy of a middle schooler. Obama changed human history by inspiring it. His mere presence during a difficult time, energized the world. He represents possibilities and hope for everyone - blacks, whites, and minorities alike.
My uncle attended the infamous Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas, after it was integrated - you know the one that is in every history book on the planet. My mother, her mother my grandmother, and many of my female family members picked cotton. She has been bruised and battered by her own people as she fought to have a better life for her family, constantly facing doors being shut in her face and "not being considered" for positions she should have received, but did not under false pretense. From working in a cotton field as a child, to raising her younger brothers and sisters and working in a meat packing plant, to climbing the professional ladder, and getting her Masters and now living and thriving as a counselor helping children. From being unsure of her future and retirement and having to work way past her years to maintain a stable life only to have her savings taken by greedy hands, viciously and carelessly robbing her of the hard earned savings, that were supposed to sustain her for the rest of her life. She has faced incredible adversity and today, she, without regret or animosity, smiles inspired about her future in this country, a country that has consistenly unloaded devastating hardship on her life.
So in honor of her and the man we elected to bring us into this new era of change, I again dedicate my life to create new hope for others. To honor her legacy of struggle by sharing the stories she shared with me with my children to never forget where we came from, where we are, and where we are today. To honor Obama's vision and do my part to "pick up myself by the bootstraps" and get to work and to believe when you have nothing but God to believe in. I did not vote for Obama because of his race. That action would have been unfair to him because the job of President is a daunting one that takes years off your life. I voted for him because he is the right man for the job he has ahead of him and I will do what I can to support him through prayer, encouragement, and lifting him and his family up daily to God for protection, clarity of thought, and strength.
He will have many hands reaching out to him, pressures from other politicians, statesmen, lobbyists, and special interests groups, hoping to influence him to their causes and desires. Power corrupts (without fail), so I pray he stays strong and incorruptible. During his speech he has made many ambitious promises, but I just believe he will do it. When I saw the callouses on his right hand as he took the oath of office, I saw a man who has worked during his life and can relate to the auto worker who just lost his job or the farmer whose receiving a percentage of the harvest of his land because of our weakened ecomony. He can even relate to a woman from Little Rock Arkansas, who picked cotton as a child. He knows her needs and I just believe he will work to help reconstruct the road she built so she can retire. I pray he stays faithful to his wife, his children without failing. I know I will not always agree with him, as he has already made decisions I am not sure of, but I will always try to respect him in his decisions. He has earned my respect.
In honor of my mommy who I love with all my heart, I dedicate this day to her, first as a survivor, as an American citizen, and a black woman because without her and others like her, Obama would not be the leader of free world today. We are not Black, White, Latino, or minority anymore. We have been united today as Americans and we are in for the fight of our lives, but I just believe...
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