My President Is Black: A Reaction to this Historic Election

My American History teacher in highschool had a banner in his classroom. On it was the picture of all the United States Presidents to date. At 11 pm, when CNN declared Barack Obama the President-Elect, all I could think was "Dear God! There is going to be a black man on that banner!"

No one was more surprised by this reaction than me. Throughout this nearly 2 year election cycle, I had prided myself in being able to cite the specific policy and ideological reasons why I supported Obama and not McCain. I had prided myself in not supporting him "just because he's black."

And yet, as Barack, Michelle, Sasha, and Malia gathered on that stage in Grant Park, and stood before the world as the new First Family, all I could think was "Dear God! There is going to be a black family in that White House!"

Some have commented that to much emphasis has been put on Obama's race. That is, if we really claim to be equal, then race shouldn't be an issue, good or bad. I suppose that is a valid point especially considering how carefully Obama avoided "playing the race card" during his campaign. But I think the reality of the situation is that equality has yet to be achieved in America or the rest of the world for that matter. It is only something to which we aspire.

So the reason there is so much elation, the reason there were people literally dancing in the street and hugging strangers is because we have made so much progress in such a short time. Less than 60 years ago, the Courts finally ruled in Brown V. Board of Education that seperate is not equal. And now the American people have elected a black man to the highest office. To pretend that this isn't a big deal is to ignore the entire struggle that made it possible.