Finding MY Voice with the Election

I've struggled with finding my voice during this election season. The question asked me most is how do I feel about Barack Obama becoming the first Black man/African American to be President? As James Brown, rest his soul, would say, "I Feel Good!"

On a more serious note, I have tended to hedge on my response. Just like Senator Obama, I don't want 'race' to be overly emphasized. I've always tended to hedge on those questions to white people. They're the only ones who ask me. But this is MY blog and what I really think is that it is totally Freakin' Awesome!! And if he doesn't get elected it will only be because of the racism spewing from the so called "Christian" Right. More on that later...

My excitement is not just that he's Black and in this case given his biological make up, actually is African American. Rather it's a combination of him being Black like me AND we are the same age! He is in the case actually like ME. That is a totally New feeling that I struggle getting my emotions and thoughts around. They're too big. I so overcome with emotion the night of Mr. Obama's nomination that I wept on my couch during his acceptance speech.

This might REALLY happen!!

We both come from humble circumstances and one way or another found a way through or over the obstacles in our way to education, jobs, etc. We both have an undeniable connection to white folks that shaped our thinking as well as some good Black folk, some old folks, etc. We've both been willing to learn from anyone who had good ideas and let them mold us, while learning to define ourselves on our own terms.

Where we differ is my father was around. (I love that man.) and the levels and types of our education are wildly different. I got a fabulous education from Baker University majoring in Music Education and also have teaching creditials in English as a Second Language. Mr. Obama's Yale education and Law degree's have been much touted and rightfully so.

What is also very much worth noting is that I didn't get the message that I could be president. Quite honestly I didn't have those types of aspirations. I was 'Little Johnny NASA'. I wanted to be an astronaut. But somewhere along the line I was told "Black people don't do math", so.... as you can guess I sucked at math virtually all my life. As kids, we believe what we're told. Maybe I would have had the salt to be an astronaut, maybe not. But I would have liked to have had the been told Black people are great at math!

But what I do know is the right man did get the right message and that man is Barack Obama. We both surely heard Jesse Jackson as kids say "I AM somebody". I did hear and believe that. Still do. Because it's true.

I don't regret my life. I've done well for myself. We are on the edge of great things in America. Barack Obama is the man to lead us there.