What Barack Obama's election win means to me


Latif Lewis
I am an American. I am an African-American woman. I am a Barack Obama supporter. I cast my ballot Tuesday, then stayed up all night watching the results roll in from the presidential race with my family who wanted to witness the historic event together. The evening stirred up a bevy of emotions: anxiety, joy, optimism, pride. I shed tears just thinking that I could possibly witness the election of the first black U.S. president. I never imagined I'd see this in my lifetime.

Our president-elect showed just how momentous this milestone is during his acceptance speech when he told of a 106-year-old voter from Atlanta named Ann Nixon Cooper who "was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons -- because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin." Obama's election is truly a time for celebration for the African-American community and, I'd argue, the nation.

Did I vote for Obama just because he is black? Certainly not. But he definitely won and lost votes solely for this reason. Yes, he is of mixed race, but let's be honest, we all see a black man.

Our economy -- the number one issue for me in this election -- is in shambles. As the business news editor for AOL, I've watched in horror this year as we've covered a beaten down stock market, the collapse of once-venerable firms like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns and the changing landscape on Wall Street. We've seen a real estate crisis that has resulted in record-level foreclosures and plunging home prices and close to a million jobs lost. I have no doubt that between Obama and John McCain, Obama is the right person for the job during this troubled time for our country.
While few have had the courage to say that our nation is in a recession, the signs are clear. The latest reading on economic growth showed that our economy shrank by 0.3 percent over the past three months. And for the black community, we are nearly in a depression. Foreclosures, which continue to pile up, are disproportionately much higher for African Americans and Hispanics than whites. The national unemployment rate for the nation stands at 6.1%. For African Americans, that number is nearly double at 11.4%, according to Sept. figures. Without enough jobs to go around, crime rates will surely rise. A prosperous America is a safer America.

There are enormous challenges ahead -- we cannot expect Obama to cure them all in a day. But I truly believe that Obama can guide this country in the right direction, from reducing the tax burden for those who need it most, to improving our healthcare system.

One true test of leadership is having the fortitude to surround yourself with people whose expertise will aid in good decision-making. Obama's decisions on VP Joe Biden and his economic advisers (many from the Clinton administration) have proven that he has the judgment to lead. Obama is no slouch himself, however. He is an educated man -- a graduate of Columbia and tops in his class from Harvard Law.

Obama's win adds to a legacy of leaders from the African American community, although little of it is taught in our public school system. They include my distant relative Lewis Latimer (Latimer being my mother's maiden name, who coincidentally married my father whose surname is Lewis). He invented the carbon filament for the light bulb. More recently in business, we see leaders like Kenneth Chenault who is the CEO of American Express, the largest credit-card company in the U.S. according to purchases. Shirley Chisholm, in 1968, became the first African American woman elected to Congress. And now Barack Obama, who has been elected to serve in the highest job in the land.

But barriers have always existed and blatant prejudice remains alive and well in our country. In October, FBI agents revealed that they had foiled a potential plot to kill nearly 100 blacks, including Obama. Since Obama announced his candidacy, he has been labeled as a Muslim, which he is not. But what if he happened to be? The fear-mongering tactic intended to somehow make him appear as a radical figure has irritated me to no end. The campaign has, unfortunately, shed light on plenty of other subtle acts of racism.

One thing that Obama's campaign has certainly done is forced a new dialogue on race in America that will hopefully lead to more tolerance of different cultures, religions, races and ethnic groups. I'll sum things up with a one-line email I received from a friend several days ago. It read: "Rosa (Parks) sat so Martin (Luther King, Jr.) could walk... Martin walked so Obama could run... Obama is running so our children CAN FLY."

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