Now that the great United States of America will have a African American in the highest office of the country, my hope is one that Obama's presidency will be a shinning example to my fellow African Americans that yes we can. Yes we can break out of the norm and exceed expectations. We do not have to let our roots determine what our futures will be. Yes we can step up and out of the ghetto ways and lives filled with excuses and self-imposed limitations. Yes, we can gain the necessary education and skills to achieve our dreams.
It is my hope that Obama's presidency will be a wake up call for African Americans of all ages that we can indeed do better and that we will indeed do better. It is my hope that we will become the best that each of us can be. That we will remove the mental shackles that hold many of our back from our greatness. Obama will make this country better on national level, it is up to us to make our homes and communities better. It is time for us as a people to step up and claim what is to be ours. History has proven that we have to fight for every advancement. We can no longer afford to sit back and what for others to do for us or do right by us. If we indeed want a brighter future, we have to be the change we are fighter for.
It is my hope that Obama's presidency will not just be a wake up call for African Americans, but also a wake up call for all of those that still view us as second-class citizens. We are a great and might people, Obama is just one public example of intelligence and integrity.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
I proudly excercised my right to vote!
Today I voted for Barack Obama in the presidential election through absentee voting. This meant me getting up early on a Saturday morning and standing in a line during a cold morning in Milwaukee. Yes, maybe I would have preferred to be still snuggled up warm in my bed but my need to vote became more important than my want to be slumber.
I have been a consistent voter for as long as I can remember. My participation in the voting process is not just during presidential elections such as this year, but doing every local race as well. As someone who studies African American history, the act of voting has gone from being just a simple act of exercising my right as an American citizen. Instead the act of voting for me is the act of responsiblity I have as an African American. Each time that I vote I feel that I am paying toward the debt that is owned to the countless brave souls who fought to make sure African Americans were no longer just allowed certain rights, but we be given full rights as we too are citizens of the United States of American. We were once legally considered less than human, but my ancestors fought for our full recongnition. So my vote today was another payment, another payment for the tears that were shed, the lives that were lost as a result of beatings, hangings, and other acts of brutality, the emotional and physical harm inflicted with the water hoses and dog attacks, etc........
The Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 granted African Americans full civil rights, prior to that legally African Americans were considered 3/5 of a person and in 1869 The Fifteenth Amendement forbad deniel of the vote on the basis of "race, color or previous condition of servitude". But the amendments seem to be worth little more than the paper that they were on because it took many more years for the amendments to be fulfilled because others did everything they could to prevent us from voting. The ending of the Civil War marked another pushing of our rights seemingly just in theory. We were not allowed to fully vote until after the Civil Rights movement and we still do not have full rights in all area of our society.
Yes, I voted for Barak Obama. Not because he is an African American, but because he is indeed seems qualified to be president. He has never been president before, so of course no can say with 100% certainty that he is fully qualified for the job. This would be true for anyone applying for a job, whether to be a nurse, teacher, policeman and event president. One never knows how they will perform on a particular job until they do it. It is my belief that Obama is what this country needs in the post of president now because of his unique combination of intelligence, strong values, solid character and emotional fortitude. This country desperately needs someone who will lead this country with the well-being of the least amongst us and the masses as a priority as opposed to one who will lead this country motivated by their own ego and greed for self and the elite.
So voting for Obama today gave me pride because within my life time the dream of seeing an African American become president is almost realized. But this dream is more gratifying due to the strength of Obama and the true hope that he gives this country. I voted early because I plan to be canvasing the streets for the Obama campaign on election day. As I completed my ballot, I wanted to just stand there and savor the moment; savor the sight of seing Barack Obama's name on the ballot. But the lines were long so I had to move along quickly. Voting early meant I missed the satification of being able to put my ballot in the machine and seeing it dislay my number. But voting early also allowed me to have the peace of mind in knowing if something unexpectedly would have prevented me from voting on Tuesday, by ballot as already been accounted for.
It is my hope that on November 5th I will awake to good news for not just African Americans, but for this country as a whole. Yes, President Barack Obama will be very good news to wake up to!
I have been a consistent voter for as long as I can remember. My participation in the voting process is not just during presidential elections such as this year, but doing every local race as well. As someone who studies African American history, the act of voting has gone from being just a simple act of exercising my right as an American citizen. Instead the act of voting for me is the act of responsiblity I have as an African American. Each time that I vote I feel that I am paying toward the debt that is owned to the countless brave souls who fought to make sure African Americans were no longer just allowed certain rights, but we be given full rights as we too are citizens of the United States of American. We were once legally considered less than human, but my ancestors fought for our full recongnition. So my vote today was another payment, another payment for the tears that were shed, the lives that were lost as a result of beatings, hangings, and other acts of brutality, the emotional and physical harm inflicted with the water hoses and dog attacks, etc........
The Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 granted African Americans full civil rights, prior to that legally African Americans were considered 3/5 of a person and in 1869 The Fifteenth Amendement forbad deniel of the vote on the basis of "race, color or previous condition of servitude". But the amendments seem to be worth little more than the paper that they were on because it took many more years for the amendments to be fulfilled because others did everything they could to prevent us from voting. The ending of the Civil War marked another pushing of our rights seemingly just in theory. We were not allowed to fully vote until after the Civil Rights movement and we still do not have full rights in all area of our society.
Yes, I voted for Barak Obama. Not because he is an African American, but because he is indeed seems qualified to be president. He has never been president before, so of course no can say with 100% certainty that he is fully qualified for the job. This would be true for anyone applying for a job, whether to be a nurse, teacher, policeman and event president. One never knows how they will perform on a particular job until they do it. It is my belief that Obama is what this country needs in the post of president now because of his unique combination of intelligence, strong values, solid character and emotional fortitude. This country desperately needs someone who will lead this country with the well-being of the least amongst us and the masses as a priority as opposed to one who will lead this country motivated by their own ego and greed for self and the elite.
So voting for Obama today gave me pride because within my life time the dream of seeing an African American become president is almost realized. But this dream is more gratifying due to the strength of Obama and the true hope that he gives this country. I voted early because I plan to be canvasing the streets for the Obama campaign on election day. As I completed my ballot, I wanted to just stand there and savor the moment; savor the sight of seing Barack Obama's name on the ballot. But the lines were long so I had to move along quickly. Voting early meant I missed the satification of being able to put my ballot in the machine and seeing it dislay my number. But voting early also allowed me to have the peace of mind in knowing if something unexpectedly would have prevented me from voting on Tuesday, by ballot as already been accounted for.
It is my hope that on November 5th I will awake to good news for not just African Americans, but for this country as a whole. Yes, President Barack Obama will be very good news to wake up to!
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