My President Is Black! 2009-2012

Last night was a great day for America and the world as a whole. Barack Obama is the president elect and is officially the first African American president of the United States.

During the election, the subject of race had been the elephant in the room. As Americans across the country anxiously followed the election, the media tried there best to dance around this issue. The tap dance around the presidential race issue was definitely justifiable. After all, if Republican Colonel Powell had of ran for president before President Barack Obama, I highly doubt many African Americans would have voted for him (I doubt that I would have). The choice of Barack Obama as president has greater implications than just race. President Barack Obama stands for more than just Black. He stands for American Values.

America has prided itself for democracy and equal opportunity for all people. Children across the U.S. have heard time and time again throughout their lives that "you can be whoever you want to be, even President". But this saying has always held a sense of false hope considering that the first 43 American presidents have been white men. In this day in age when American values, democracy, and capitalism have been under scrutiny on a global scale, the election of President Barack Obama has given more Americans, regardless of race, more faith in the constitution on which America is built.

Even though there was an increase in African American voters for the 2008 election, we must not overlook the fact that we could not have elected President Barack Obama on our own. President Brack Obama is not just a black man...he is a qualified black man. Hence, he won over people from all races, walks of life, and crossed party lines. After viewing a television special a couple of weeks ago regarding the oppression of blacks back in the day, I realized that a good majority of whites have been looking forward to this day just as much as blacks have. In the special, a white man talked about Jim Crow and his take on lynching black people. He spoke about how during that time he knew that the actions of many whites were wrong, but, he along with many others of his race, never spoke out out of fear for their own lives. I realized that on some level, all races have experienced a general disappointment in the U.S.'s historic refusal to be constitutional toward certain groups across the nation. It has given me a stronger feeling of connectedness as an American and not just as an African American.

In addition, President Barack Obama represnts Real People. I believe that he is the only president who graduated from college with debt. His story is similiar to my own story. His story is similiar to the average American. The election of a qualified real person into office does not just give hope to African Americans and minorities but it gives hope to women, lower-income individuals, the disabled, gays, and anyone else who must overcome oppresive challenges. We can finally say with a straight face "You can be whoever you want to be, even President".

Even though this is a halmark in American history, I challenge everyone not to get too comfortable. In today's article by Adam Nagourney of The New York Times, he states "Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president...sweeping away the last racial barrier in american politics...". Let us not forget that just because a black man has been elected president that there are no longer hurdles to climb. There is still much work to do. President Barack Obama was elected as the CEO of the U.S. but it was not an easy battle to win. The next step is to try to eliminate these hurdles. Considering President Barack Obama will have his hands tied with war and the economy, we as citizens must still work for positive change.

I would like to take this time to highlight the best momments from last night:

1. Jesse Jackson's stoic demeanor with tears running down his face.



2. Oprah Winfrey as a non-celebrity supporting President Barack Obama in her hometown, Chicago (I found it interesting to see how even Oprah couldn't use her celebrity status to get closer to Obama)



3. Undoubtedly, President Obama's victory speech




4. Running in the streets of Pittsburgh with students from UPitt and CMU (we stormed the CMU library and baracaded the streets, it was fun as shit)

(this is not an actual pic of the event but to give you some idea as to how croweded and ridiculous it was)

5. Old African-Americans finally being able to see a black president after slavery, Jim Crow, and lynchings




6. Reaction of all President Barack Obama's supporters after the announcement that he won



7. Other defining moments:

~VOTE~VOTE~VOTE~

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

I ask that all my readers go VOTE. Please exercise your rights and let your voice be heard. I have voted for Barack Obama. If you want to see Barack Obama win, I suggest you get to the polls ASAP. Polls close at 8:00pm. The longer you wait, the longer the lines. If you do not want to see Barack Obama win, I suggest you do the same. I'd rather see Obama win when the competition is fierce and about the issues than win because all the minorities and Democrats voted and the Republicans stayed home. I want to be able to say that he won because he is without a doubt the president elect.

If you see any problems or hear of any hoaxes regarding the polls, do not hesitate to contact an administrator.

I will not be watching the polls throughout the day because its going to be too nerve wrecking. I'm not turning on the radio, TV, or talking to anyone until the polls in California close. So, for all my personal friends reading this, please do not be mad if I do not answer my phone before 11pm tonight....I'm going to sleep after work and class to sleep off the anxiety.

Given the historical significance of this election I ask that if Obama does not win, black people, try your best to take it as a loss and move on....If Obama does win, white people (particularly supremist), try your best to take it as a loss and move on....

The important thing is that people remain safe.

My condolences go out to the Obama family in their time of loss. For all those who are a little out of the loop, Barack Obama's grandmother lost her battle with cancer Sunday night. The silver lining of her death is that she submitted her absentee ballot on October 27th and was still able to vote for her grandson.


VOTE~VOTE~VOTE~VOTE~VOTE~VOTE~

Black on Black Crime: The Uncle Ruckus Syndrome

I was watching The Daily Show a couple weeks back and they satirically brought up the idea of the "Racist Democrat". They brought it up to make fun of people who were considered swing voters. I thought the skit was hilarious. However, I couldn't help but wonder about the idea of the Racist Democrat. When they mentioned it on the Daily Show, they were referring to white democrats that did not favor black people but, I want to explore the idea of the Racist Democrat being blacks who do not favor blacks. When we talk about Black on Black Crime, most of us automatically take the saying as its reference to violence....but, Black on Black Crime transcends physicality. Black on Black Crime manifest itself mentally and psychologically as well. As seen in Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks, these self-hating Blacks are satirized by the character Uncle Ruckus.

Over the past year, I have had this roommate who is also black and from Baltimore (I'll address her as Miss. Ruckus). For some reason, I could never really quite pinpoint exactly why she would get under my skin until yesterday. After being shown the video that I posted in the previous entry by another roommate, Miss. Ruckus watched the interview that CNN had with the kids (posted below). Her response to the interview was "oh, so black kids actually are smart." She said it as if she were surprised that 6th and 7th grade black kids were capable of thinking on their own and expressing their ideas articulately. She further commented "so I guess rap actually does has a purpose."

After these comments were made, it became very apparent that the rift between the two of us lies within the fact that she suffers from the Uncle Ruckus Syndrome. She is a high sididity chic who believes that she is one of the only hard working, smart black people that there is in America and the reason we do not align is because despite how far I have come, I still represent my culture and refuse to forget where I come from.

I told her that she's a racist after she hung up the phone with a guy either from UPS or JCPenny about a package she had not received. When she hung up on the guy which I assume sounded black, she responds "See that's why they need to stop giving colored folks jobs." When I pointed out her racist, self-hating comment, she replied "I'm sorry but he couldn't speak and he didn't know what he was doing". I asked her was it because he was colored or was it simply because he was stupid? I wanted her know there was a difference and that colored does not equal stupid (the fact that she even used the word colored made me grit my teeth a little and look at her sideways).

Miss. Ruckus recently celebrated her birthday. Her mom, stepfather, and brother sent her a gift in the mail that she received today. I was surprised to find out that her brother bought her Eminem's Biography. I thought that maybe her brother must of been just a typical, slow male who is completely unaware of what to give a girl for her birthday but, after a little inquiring, I learned that Miss. Ruckus was heavy into Eminem back in high school. Why is this so interesting? Well about two weeks back, Miss. Ruckus and I had a conversation about rap. I was pro-rap, she was anti-rap. I guess as long as the rapper is white then rap is okay.

I really don't get the deal of the Uncle Ruckus' of the world. Miss. Ruckus must be self-hating considering a friend of hers will not let her be in her wedding because she is black. Miss. Ruckus does not feel that it is a real issue. She is more concerned with being a good friend and is angry at the guy her friend is marrying. I mean really...WAKE UP stupid, self-hating chic!!!!

It seems that Miss. Ruckus lacks the power to stand up for her right to be recognized as an actual human being. Her will is fed through the fact that she is a self-hating supremist. The term self-hating supremist is an oxymoran and the irony behind the notion leaves one to believe that Miss. Ruckus must be fighting internally with herself. She is simultaneously both the criminal and the victim of Black on Black Crime because in putting down other black people, she is ultimately making it harder on herself.

In this world of Black on Black Crime, it's the Freemen vs. the Uncle Ruckus'

Freeman vs. Uncle Ruckus




Ron Clark School in Atlanta




Best of Uncle Ruckus

Kids Are Soooo Adorable!

Aaawwwww! They are tooo cute!

They can have whatever they like :0)