Afterglow

Somebody pass me a cigarette.

And I don't even smoke.

But, this feels like the kind of moment that needs smoke rings and a tiny pinpoint of orange light glowing in the dark to be appreciated.

I'm sleep-deprived and dealing with a lingering cold, but man I feel good. I feel real good.

Sated.

I started this blog in January. More than 300 posts later, I have people regularly reading what I write and being inspired by my words. I began this blog because of Barack Obama and what his candidacy would mean for racial conversations in this country. I haven't been disappointed.

I didn't canvass any neighborhoods, I didn't call any voters. I don't have any lawn signs and aside from a few shirts my wife got for my son, I don't own any Obama paraphernalia. But, I still feel like I'm a part of this.

All of us are.

When I say "us" I don't just mean black people or Obama supporters. I don't even mean just Americans. Every person on this planet who cared about this election, who understands the significance of an Obama victory is a part of this triumph. This is a moment for us all.

We have many more mountains to climb, many more rivers to cross, but we have reached a mountaintop. Big dreams can be fulfilled. None of us can deny that now.

I've seen people all over the internet and real world try to explain what this moment means to them. Some have been painfully eloquent, others have been dreadfully ignorant. I'm just happy folks have this amazing event to discuss.

There is a special feeling of charity in the black community right now. We feel closer to our fellow Americans than we have since the slaves were freed. Seriously, I think black people understand that this moment isn't just about us, it's about everybody who was willing to let go of some baggage and trust again.

I didn't wake my son up to watch Obama give his speech. He gets really cranky when you break his sleep and he had already been up pretty late watching the returns come in. I wonder if I'll regret that decision in the future?

I mentioned my son because I picked him up this morning while watching cable news and I looked into his face. He had a little chocolate on his lip from eating a cookie he had begged and pleaded to get. I looked at him different today. When I looked in his face I truly believed that his life would be better than mine.

For the past few years, I've never believed that. I thought that my son would inherit a much worse world because people were no longer willing to be honest about racism, and therefore progress had ended. I am so happy I was wrong. As my son squirmed in my arms, desperate to be put down so he could run around some more, I thought, "Yes you can."

Yes you can be the world's preeminent doctor.

Yes you can live a life of happiness and not one crushed beneath the burden of double consciousness.

Yes you can raise your children to fully invest their hearts in this country.

Yes you can be president.

See, most of the world may not change, but I think black people will. This is a defining moment in our history. We will believe more, we will work harder and we will acomplish things. Sometimes all it takes is one victory to believe things will be different. This is that victory. Our communities may still be overrun by crime, our schools may be overburdened and underfinanced, but I think black people now realize that things don't have to be that way.

We don't have to settle for less. We don't have to hoard success. We can dream HUMONGOUS dreams.

That is powerful.

He can.


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