Black for the first time
Now that we have had some time to digest president elect Obama's landslide victory over John McCain I thought it was time to release my thoughts about this historic moment in Americas history. I think my thoughts come from a informed place because I have been following the election since he made his announcement in Springfield Illinois in 2007. My view of the entire race has a special twist.I'm black. Jaw dropping I know.
This victory has many obvious implications for the country and for American politics. But I think the single most overlooked dynamic is what it means for young black professionals such as myself. For the first time we have a positive national identity. I stress the word"positive". There have been a long list of negative black roll models over the years. Lets see....there was OJ, Michael Jackson(if he's still black), Marion Barry, Al Sharpton, and a real monster, the Wayans brothers just to name a few. What I'm saying is, for entirely to long we have been viewed as a side show act at a circus. The black bearded lady if you will.
But a funny thing happened on the morning of November 5th 2008. I woke up and said out loud "we have a black president". It seemed to good to be true. Especially since I never thought something of this magnitude could happen to us as black folk. After my normal morning run and coffee I set out to sell some drugs to the unsuspecting American public. I chose the Italian made blue pinstripe suit with the designer tie. My normal threads. I got to stay fly until I die. Most of my readers know this. When I Left my residence I received a smile from a neighbor that doesn't usually speak to me. I gave her one of my award winning smiles in return and thought nothing of it. Then at a local cafe people stared my direction a little more than usual. I just thought these people must be admiring my fresh ass suit or they were mistaking me for someone else. Then it dawned on me. These people see me in a new light because of our newly elected president. I call it "The Obama effect". Its when people see black people differently since Obama's emergence onto the national scene.
I asked a few other black friends of mine and they all agreed that they had noticed a little more attention from their co-workers and from interactions they had during the days and weeks following the election. People now have a new found respect for the black culture. Regardless of who people voted for they now see black people in a new light.
So goodbye fried chicken and fast black people jokes. Hello oval office. No more "wave caps" when we leave the house. Our president elect doesn't roll the streets of Chicago with his "doo rag" on so why should we? Its a new day in America and we now have a chance to redeem ourselves in the eyes of all people who held blacks to lower standards in the past. Lets use this chance to become a real part of America. No more embarrassing moments black people. Stop smoking crack and watching Jerry Springer. We don't need to star on the news every night do we? I'll say it since so few of us will. No more "nigga" talk. Its not a term of endearment. Its a derogatory word. As a rule of thumb, don't call your boys anything you wouldn't want white people to call you. Simple as that.
So, from this day forward lets all be proud to be black again. Black is back baby.
Julian
This victory has many obvious implications for the country and for American politics. But I think the single most overlooked dynamic is what it means for young black professionals such as myself. For the first time we have a positive national identity. I stress the word"positive". There have been a long list of negative black roll models over the years. Lets see....there was OJ, Michael Jackson(if he's still black), Marion Barry, Al Sharpton, and a real monster, the Wayans brothers just to name a few. What I'm saying is, for entirely to long we have been viewed as a side show act at a circus. The black bearded lady if you will.
But a funny thing happened on the morning of November 5th 2008. I woke up and said out loud "we have a black president". It seemed to good to be true. Especially since I never thought something of this magnitude could happen to us as black folk. After my normal morning run and coffee I set out to sell some drugs to the unsuspecting American public. I chose the Italian made blue pinstripe suit with the designer tie. My normal threads. I got to stay fly until I die. Most of my readers know this. When I Left my residence I received a smile from a neighbor that doesn't usually speak to me. I gave her one of my award winning smiles in return and thought nothing of it. Then at a local cafe people stared my direction a little more than usual. I just thought these people must be admiring my fresh ass suit or they were mistaking me for someone else. Then it dawned on me. These people see me in a new light because of our newly elected president. I call it "The Obama effect". Its when people see black people differently since Obama's emergence onto the national scene.
I asked a few other black friends of mine and they all agreed that they had noticed a little more attention from their co-workers and from interactions they had during the days and weeks following the election. People now have a new found respect for the black culture. Regardless of who people voted for they now see black people in a new light.
So goodbye fried chicken and fast black people jokes. Hello oval office. No more "wave caps" when we leave the house. Our president elect doesn't roll the streets of Chicago with his "doo rag" on so why should we? Its a new day in America and we now have a chance to redeem ourselves in the eyes of all people who held blacks to lower standards in the past. Lets use this chance to become a real part of America. No more embarrassing moments black people. Stop smoking crack and watching Jerry Springer. We don't need to star on the news every night do we? I'll say it since so few of us will. No more "nigga" talk. Its not a term of endearment. Its a derogatory word. As a rule of thumb, don't call your boys anything you wouldn't want white people to call you. Simple as that.
So, from this day forward lets all be proud to be black again. Black is back baby.
Julian
