President Obama Role Model for Minorities Worldwide
January 21, 2009 by Katie Skow
Filed under EG
Today I had great (work) expectations. I had a schedule to follow and a list of things to accomplish. By 8am, all of that had been long since forgotten.
Not to discount any holidays (they are, after all, considered holidays for very good reasons), but every year we’ll have another 4th of July, another Easter, another Labor Day. Never again will we have another inauguration of the first African American President of the United States. While Barack Obama has set the precedent for “minority” presidents to come, this day is a one-time deal. Forever.
Regardless of political affiliation, this is something to be celebrated.
The emails and projects can wait another day. Dozens of years from now, I know I’ll never remember my work correspondence or what projects I was working on today.
Instead, I’ll remember watching live as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into office and extended an olive branch to the world. Present in the VIP stand at the ceremony: Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, The Boys Choir of Kenya, and Oprah Winfrey among countless others. Millions of people from all walks of life merged on the National Mall to watch this historical moment, live.
For the first time in United States history, I felt that this presidential inauguration wasn’t just another white man celebrating his glory. As I looked to the stands at both public events, I saw diversity. For once, I didn’t just feel hope for minorities- the hope that they too, could someday be someone important in this country- I finally felt as though the day had arrived.
Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States of America, is proof that the barriers are being torn down at a rapid pace. Anybody can become who they want to become in life.
I wish Martin Luther King Jr. were here to witness this moment in history.
Dream big.
Tearing down barriers has been a challenge since 1776, and the struggle continues to this day, but this change in administration has the potential to accelerate that process, resulting in new opportunities for all, especially the next generation to come along. Thanks for your insights!
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I too found this to be a day of healing and inspiration. I was a small child when desegregation struggles were happening in the South, but the newsreels of snarling dogs and brave folks standing up for their rights made a deep impression on me, as did the words of MLK. I remember hearing a young Andrew Young speak on television and asking my Mom why he couldn’t be president. And in 2004 when Barack Obama spoke at the Democratic convention, I asked the same question. Why isn’t HE running? Well, he did it, our nation did it and I am proud of all of us.
My husband’s father was in the Marine Corps when he was a child, stationed in Cherry Point, North Carolina. Because his mother was part American Indian, they often had to get food to go when they were on the road, because she would not be permitted to eat with the rest of the family in the restaurant. That was not so long ago in this nation’s history. I know that discrimination is far from over, and there are further divisions to be healed, but on this day, “we are one” and I for one couldn’t be more relieved and hopeful.
Thanks for the great reminder to remember the bigger picture! I agree — what a phenomenal day!
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“but this change in administration has the potential to accelerate that process, resulting in new opportunities for all, especially the next generation to come along. Thanks for your insights!”
Yes there is always potential, but do people take advantage of it? usually not.
too many people are getting ahead of themselves assuming Obama is like God now, when in reality he has been in office for no more than a month and hasn’t changed the whole country, so slow down and get with reality.
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