Next February will mark 50 years for me on this earth. In that time I've witnessed a lot of moments in history I would prefer to forget, and act as if they never happened. Those were moments for me as a black man that I felt shame when I reflected on Dr. King's dream, the struggle of many heroes in black history who shaped who I am and prepared the way for people of color. What would they say about what we see now?
But then there were the moments that I was most proud from the ending of apartheid and the freeing of Nelson Mandela to the election of Barack Obama and many significant dates in between. There have been many firsts in Black History over this period with the biggest, no doubt, being the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. Dr. King would be proud. But metaphorically black folks have been waiting to get "in the house" for a long time, and now that we've taken residence in the house, what now? Are we content with just seeing a black man occupying the most powerful seat in this country and to see a black family occupying the White House? It's not enough to just be in the house. Now that we're there, it may as well be impactful. To have waited this long, to have had many who shed their blood and died so that someone like Barack Obama could get this opportunity, to then get there and not have an impact on the legacy of a country that has been historically racist would be a waste. This is why it's so important that President Obama gets a second term in office.
The first four years were spent cleaning up the ruins left by former President Bush, and in my opinion the next four years will be spent placing an even larger and lasting footprint on the history of this country. Imagine if he were elected and one or two Supreme Court Justices retired. President Obama would have the power to shift the direction and balance of the Supreme Court -- a move that will be historic and lasting. To call the impact it could potentially have on cities, communities and people of color and those left out, locked out or forgotten mammoth, would be a complete understatement.
Don't allow those who oppose his re-election to use voices in your own communities to convince you that this president doesn't care about people of color and the poor. He's already proven through his healthcare bill and the jobs bill that he's looking out for those at the bottom. Even in the face of opposition and the obstructionist tactics from the Republicans, he's getting the job done. Some would like him to walk around with a sign on his neck that says, "I'm a black man," but is that really necessary or was there ever any doubt? There is no need for him to speak publicly of a black agenda. In my opinion, good, sound policy that helps all Americans helps black Americans. This is just a tactic used by his opponents, black and white, to say he somehow hasn't lived up to a black standard. African Americans make up 13 percent of the country's population and undoubtedly supported President Obama largely but where we participated in getting him elected he wasn't solely elected by the black population. He's not the president of black America. He's the president of the United States of America.
The Republicans can't challenge him on his foreign policy. That's an anomaly for democrats who usually get spanked for being weak on foreign policy. President Obama has proven that he can act swiftly and concisely against our enemies. He's responded and used good judgment on all things foreign and domestic. In the words of Vice President Joe Biden, Osama Bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive. The Republicans don't want to talk abut the Bush Presidency; they say Bush is not running. What they're doing is running from the facts. Bush left this country in terrible shape and this president has had to come behind him and clean up a hefty mess. He deserves the same amount of time it took Bush to crew it up, to repair it. Vote to Re-elect President Barrack Obama. Now that we're in the house, we should stay there as long as possible until it becomes common place to take up residence in the house and not just be a visitor to the house.