Obama’s presidency makes the case for voting n together
By Bill Beene Of the St. Louis American
“They aren’t going to let a black man be president.”
Those were my words when I first heard that a U.S. senator from Chicago named “Barack Hussein Obama” was running for president. Once I heard his entire name, I was sure he wouldn’t win n and I was surely rolling with Hillary in the Democratic primary.
I thought: They’d let a white woman become president before they let a black man, though he’s biracial. As they say, one drop of black blood makes you black.
When I got to know Obama through his vivid intellect, progressive platform, compassionate vision and political savvy, I thought, “Well, if he doesn’t win, he most certainly should.”
That was enough for me to jump on the Obama band wagon. We got past the Clintons.
But when Obama didn’t choose Hillary as his running mate, I got a little scared, because I thought that Hillary and Obama together would ensure a landslide.
When John McCain countered by choosing Sarah Palin, I got a little scared again. But I thought: Women have to see through this strategy. And I was right. We all got to know Palin, and what seemed to give McCain initial momentum cost him.
Then it dawned on me that Obama’s candidacy had divinity written all over it. Then I knew he would win. And I wasn’t worried about someone assassinating him n even after reports of some skinheads plotting on him.
I didn’t worry about the voting system being tampered with. I didn’t worry about the galvanized, record number of new voters following through by casting their votes on Election Day. I was even more worriless when I showed up to my North City voting place and noticed a long line, an occurrence that hadn’t happened before in all of my years voting there.
Even my brother voted. He hadn’t voted in about 10 years. I always saw his name right there next to mine and our mother’s. This year, though we hadn’t been talking much, he stood next to me for about an hour and a half in line. When we had signed and initialed our signatures, we sat down right next to one another to vote.
That was encouraging, because I knew I was just one of many who made sure someone else voted in this historic election.
We left feeling good, feeling that we had done our part. My brother and I put our differences aside for at least two hours. And that’s what so many American people did. People of all hues came together in hope of a more perfect union.
And if ever there was a case for unity in the black community (and among all people of goodwill) n this is it. When we come to together of one accord and do what we need to do (in this case, vote), we can make a change in our lives.
This is what we must remember in the upcoming 2009 mayoral election, when Mayor Francis G. Slay is up for reelection. We have seen the power of our unity and our numbers, and we must maintain this show of unity and keep our electoral power alive and well.