The Importance of the Obama Era

With the passing of the torch in sight, I’ll never forget how easily President Obama could evoke emotions that would reduce me to tears when offering condolences and at the despair all around that continuously affects many African Americans. Nor will I forget the restrained eloquence of Michelle Obama and just how she was a great First Lady. Some of their legacies will include the recognition of what needed to be changed, if only seeds were planted. An important legacy will be the recognition that minorities, in particular blacks, suffer a disproportionate burden and that their dreams and passions can be achieved by restoring hope that often seems to be out of grasp. It's important for everyone to come to terms with needs of each other.

As a white person, I vividly remember my childhood. I grew up in a middle class area and attended grade school in a district that was heavily Italian and African American. As a child, you generally have a clean slate and the concept of prejudice doesn’t exist. Hence none of my classmates coalesced into groups and we enjoyed each other’s company. Unfortunately, many of us become influenced by the views of others as we grow out of those innocent years. The consequence sometimes is that we become victims of a prejudicial grinding wheel that slowly tears away at our sense of humanity. The net result is parts of you being drawn to a different reality, parts of you feeling sadness and guilt and part of you just wanting to cry because sometimes you’re overwhelmed by competing forces.

In the backdrop of what was happening when I was young was the assassination of both President Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Two powerful figures, one white and one black. The death of President Kennedy caused everyone to feel grief. The death of Dr. King probably had a more potent shot to the heart of black people since he represented the hope that they deserved and needed. While all of us can understand the gut-wrenching emotion that blacks felt, I think that would be compounded if you lived during that time and you felt marginalized, since at that time, Civil Rights were the dreams Dr. King died for.

I really hope with all of my heart that President and Michelle Obama will continue to be influential in our lives forever. In my lifetime, they affected me profoundly.