Sitting on my couch, this particular Tuesday evening, I am watching with so much pride, Love & Happiness, An Obama Celebration, A Musical Experience. I speak proudly, the official name that many refused to mouth over the past eight years, PRESIDENT Barack Obama…
Some might not understand, but the mere fact that this man is representative of a people, who not only had to fight and die in order to learn to read, but also had to endure the same in order to vote, is more than tremendous. It’s more than history- making to me. It’s more than the honor that is shared in recognizing the legacy of the first African American president. This memory will forever remain seated in the intimate core of my soul. You see, this wouldn’t mean the same to you, unless seeing President Obama, sitting so cool, so graceful, so poised, so intellectually astute, so warm-spirited, and so confident, was the first time you saw yourself or the likeness of a whole race of people finally reach the plateau of being the leader of the free world…running the highest office in the land. I pray that someday, people will attempt to understand….
I had the experience, of which I can’t even fathom having missed, to witness and attend the Presidential Inauguration in 2008. I walked miles to and from the event because of the same pride that I feel today, as I write this blog. That pride could’ve been soiled by enduring the coolness of some, who apparently had an issue, whether politically or otherwise, that I made the trek to Washington, DC. However, I could not be shaken!! No one could take proudness-to-the-nth degree from me!! On that January Inauguration Day, I walked from city- to-city, enduring extremely cold weather, with joy warming my heart. It wasn’t recreational. It was a requirement that I placed on myself. I had to be there!! It was more than important to participate, despite warnings of potential attacks. For me, it was worth dying for! I pray that someday, people will attempt to understand….
I’m quite sure that those who don’t understand what these eight years have meant, and the fact that President Obama leaving office is bittersweet, are also finding challenges in “getting” this An Obama Celebration , much less it being nationally televised. It’s a journey of America through music that has been an inspiration during sub-par emotional or spiritual moments and entertaining during moments when a smile might have been hard to find or served just to sustain or magnify moments of joy. This music is celebratory of the “lift” that was necessary to face the world in unusually and historically taking the office of President. It might not feed everyone’s soul, but apparently it fed and feeds his. It’s cultural, however, it is American music extended to all Americans and certainly has proven crossover appeal. I pray that someday, people will attempt to understand….
Although President Obama’s term is too quickly coming to an end for me, my love, my pride, my endearing thoughts, my sense of self, and ambition will forever be heightened because he made the sacrifice. He made a sacrifice in refusing to live a status quo life. He chose not to settle for “regular.” He bravely chose extraordinary over ordinary. He chose to make many generations of ethnicities and races of people proud. He chose to not judge based on faith, gender identity or sexual preference. He chose to fight for those who didn’t have enough power or will to fight for themselves. For me, he chose to raise the bar for a race of people, whose ancestors lived and experienced slavery, oppression, and discrimination every day—People who were beaten to a pulp and shot down like animals for something as minor as wanting to better themselves. Well, I and millions of others in this nation and around the world, are better since 2008! We have some renewed realizations – – -We are contributors! We are worthy! We are capable! We are strong! We are intelligent! We are able to raise future generations of young men and women, who can be like the man I am so proud of, President Barack Hussein Obama! It is no longer just a dream, my friends. He has proven to the world that, “Yes we can!” I pray that someday, people will try a little harder not to hate or judge, but try a lot harder to have a Godly heart to understand. I pray that someday, people will pray for PEOPLE and recognize the difference between pride and prejudice.
*After-note: The morning devotion—God’s Word For You Today, dated the day after this blog was written, so appropriately reads: “God sees people as His own treasures, so be careful how you treat them.” ~ Hearing From God Each Morning, Joyce Meyers.
Peace & Blessings, Lisa B