"Obama wins Historic US Election" BBC
"Kenya Family in Party Mode for Obama" Kazakhstan news
I know that many will read this title and believe that, by that statement, I am saying that it is now the time for African Americans... But I really mean is that it is now "OUR" time. Our collective time to breathe..to exhale. To look forward together to a new future.
This day was amazing to me from the beginning.
New to my area, I was walking to find my polling place and met one of my neighbors, Maxine, for the first time. When she said she was headed to the polls I asked if I could walk with her. We chatted as we headed further into downtown. Maxine, an older white woman, told me a bit of her personal story... being 10 during the Great Depression, but remembering that it did not seem so bad, because everyone was so poor. How excited she was to vote today, and how her husband chides her for not voting absentee. As the rain fell, our votes cast, we separated into our collective day feeling good. A little apprehensive maybe, but good. Voting somehow does that to you...
"Barack Obama elu presidente: C'est votre victoire" Le Monde
Walking back from the polls in the light rain, I felt a little euphoric... Excited even. People on the street had the same look on their faces as they made their way home or to the voting booth.
This evening, I drove over to a friend's home for an election party (and I am glad that I did). Marcia had all of the fixins for a good party... lots of food to nibble and a great area to watch the election in. It was an eclectic group of Black women... no men for some reason but Black women seem used to this dynamic. We joked and ate and told stories of our voting experience. We watched with high anticipation those electoral votes rack up on each side..red then blue.. Blue then red.. It was maddening! How could Louisiana be won by McCain anyway? I ask myself. My family is there and I know they are not voting Republican. I tend to forget all those other folk who live there... those not quite ready to let go of their Confederate Flags.
As we sat in the comfort of this space and company, we were prepared for a long night.
"Obama sweeps to victory, says change has come to America: Japan Today
Then it happened. The CNN screen read: Barack Obama predicted President Elect....
After a few quiet moments of quizzical conversation... we broke out into spontaneous and collective screams.. The "predicted" part was removed from the headline and they told us that Barack Obama was our 44th President.
My mobile began singing to me incessantly... My Sister... when I answer she is screaming and we scream together... My Mother and Father... when I answer they are crying, and I start to cry. They tell me this is an overwhelming experience. Having lived the Jim Crow years of this country and moved into the silent racist years.. none of thought we would live to see the day an African American would take the big desk at the White House. More tears...
This is an extraordinary day and time to be alive. Each time I think of it...the impact... the message it sends to each every person of color in this country...each and every young Black male who thinks there are no options... every little girl who can now see herself in that House.., I weep.
Gob Bless America
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