What was I Thinking?

Ladies and Gentlemen, "President-Elect Barack Obama"!!!!!
I sat there speechless in my chair, witnessing this incredible moment by myself. I had tried to go to a watch party that night, but it was just too noisy, so I rushed back home. Yet as I sat alone in front of my TV, I shared the moment with e-mails and instant messages to my friends in Atlanta, my family back home in Omaha, and my extended family on Facebook. As we saw him walk up and speak to that excited throng at Grant Park in Chicago, I had to admit that I never believed this miracle would happen; at least not in '08.

I couldn't help thinking back to a moment almost one year ago, at the airport in Las Vegas, Nevada where I had just finished a business trip. But my flight back to LA was late and I had some time to kill. I noticed a sharp looking young brother who was supposed to be on the same flight. I always try to speak to young black men, just to let them know that I see them, like the village elder. I guess it's one of the privileges of gray hair. It also keeps me connected with what they are thinking about, since I'm from a different generation.

This young brother was eager to talk to me as he put down his iPod and Blackberry. He told me that he was also on business in Vegas and he had just signed up to work on Barack Obama's presidential campaign. He was very excited about the possibilities of Obama's candidacy and he wanted to know what I thought. I weighed my words carefully, trying to find a balance in my troubled thoughts that wouldn't discourage his enthusiasm. Being the voice of reason, I told him that I applauded his effort and I was envious of his ability to commit to such a goal. But there was a "but" lingering in my thoughts,
"But I really wonder if he can get elected?” I told him, "I just don't know if I believe that America is ready for him! I know he's ready for America, but will they let him run?"
The young man looked at me and listened intently. He told me he believed in Barack and was convinced he was backing the right candidate, not to mention he was building an incredible organization. I looked back at him and said,
"I know he's GOOD, I heard him speak at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. I believe he will be President eventually. But I don't think he'll get past Hillary!"

The young brother looked at me like he felt sorry for me, and he seemed to be thinking,
"This old dude don't understand nothing. Doesn't he know the 60's are over?"

I thought I knew what I was talking about. Everything I told him was the truth, at least as I saw it. I had faith in Obama, but not in the America I have been living in. We've been too blinded by race in this country; trapped in a mindset bogged down by the history of slavery. Blacks/Africans had to be dehumanized in this slavery system to justify the horrors of putting people in chains, and buying and selling them like cattle. That vision of inferiority is firmly planted in the American psyche and we haven't been able to shake it.

I went to all-white schools in high school and college and I met white men and women that had never been in the same room with a black person before. They were surprised when I was "articulate", and amazed when I could answer a question, proving my intelligence.
But they were never shocked that I wanted to play basketball or football because that fit the profile of their expectations for me. it's a scenario that I've seen repeated time and time again in my adult life on almost every job I've had.

But as President-Elect Obama gave his acceptance speech, I had to accept the fact that America had fooled me! This Time America Stood UP and Got it right! This election was about the need for symbolism, the need to have a President that we could believe in again. You could see it in the eyes of the people who came out that night to hear Obama speak. His words lifted them up and brought them to a new level of confidence. They/We adored him; and his beautiful family. It's was like a beautiful fairy tale that came true. They could actually see through his skin.

Perhaps one of the most eloquent statements that night came from a middle aged white man who was there to witness firsthand the Obama acceptance speech in Grant Park,
"I feel like a nightmare is finally over", he said through his tears, "I think we have a future now, I think we really have a future!"
When he said that, I realized that Black people had not suffering alone all these years with this pain and shame of racism. This election for many of us was like a cleansing of all the hate!

But to that young brother I met on the plane last year, I can only say,
"Thank God you didn't listen to me! Thank God you believed it was possible NOW. Thank God you were NOT prepared to be patient and wait for Obama to have his turn. You knew 13 months ago that Obama's time IS NOW and that later would have been TOO LATE!
Yes, I was wrong, and I am SO HAPPY ABOUT IT!