Yes, WE CAN!

President-elect Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago Tuesday night, Nov. 4, 2008.(AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Once upon a time, the idea of an African-American even visiting The White House was unheard of. Last night history was made. Barack Obama became the first African-American President-elect of the United States in a landslide victory. Come January 20, he will enter the gates of The White House on Pennyslvania Ave, not as a guest, but as America’s new leader.

As I watched the news unfold on my television throughout the night, as so many others around the world did, I couldn’t help but feel anxious to see the final results. And at 11pm when the words flashed across the screen, revealing who our new president would be, I rejoiced! In no other election, had I felt so inspired by a candidate.

His inspiring nature is what ultimately sailed him to victory in a sea full of doubters.

Obama joins his thousands of supporters at one of his many rallies.

Yes, there were always doubters. And not just the ones that you’d expect offhand, such as those plagued by an unyielding fear of embracing the Other and a reluctance to acknowledge the ever-changing world.

I myself, an African-American female was a doubter–at first. Not because I didn’t believe that Obama had the intelligence, tenacity, resourcefulness and passion to lead a successful campaign. He did exactly that by leading a grassroots campaign that started from nothing and emerged into one of history’s most strategic, organized, far-reaching, fruitful and passionate campaigns.

Spreading his “change message” throughout the country, state-by-state, he inspired millions to see that each one of their votes could make a difference.

But, would this be enough?

I asked myself this question several times. History had shown me that the cynicism I held when it came to the politics of my country was warranted. So, it wasn’t my lack of faith in Obama that kept me a doubter for a while. Unfortunately, it was my lack of faith in Americans and the political system as a whole.

The flawed results of the 2000 Presidential election gave rise to films exploring the controversy, such as Uncounted.

Flash backward to the election of 2000 where our political system failed us miserably.

Voting fraud. The Florida recount. Even now, no one knows for sure exactly what happened and how it happened. We just know that the results of that election were questionable.  The idea that we couldn’t trust our political system  was forever etched into the back of our minds, so much that many of us began to question if there was even a reason to go to the polls again. That apathy is what got us another Bush term in 2004. That was the first election I was eligible to vote in and I was passionate about the issues. Hence, I voted. Unfortunately, that year the voter turn out wasn’t good and despite what seemed to be an overwhelming disdain for our current President, his reelection was a breeze.

While I knew that I would continue to exercise my right to vote in this 2008 election no matter what, would others?

I feared that some of the people in support of Obama, especially African-Americans still might not bother to vote because they felt like their voices weren’t large enough to carry him to victory.  I feared that racial bigotry would win and sadly there would be many people in our country that wouldn’t vote him into office at all because of his skin color. My biggest fear was that the political system would fail us again like in 2000.

It was during the Democratic National Convention that I shed all doubt and started to become a believer.

Obama delivered his 44-minute acceptance speech with confidence and passion in front of an audience unmatched in size, filled with hope.

“But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don’t understand is that this election has never been about me. It’s been about you,” he said.

In that moment, it all clicked.

This was about us. The power was in our hands, and ours alone. I, like so many, had forgotten that power. But, racial bigotry from a few could not startle the collective power of many this time. Bigotry could no longer win when I saw the magnitude of the crowd–consisting of all colors and ethnicities cheering with fervor.

This rainbow coalition was proof  that there were millions of Americans out there that were no longer fazed by race. Finally, the majority was ready and willing to support a man because he was a formidable candidate for our country, despite his skin color. The majority was ready to put the welfare of the country before racial politics.

Hence, electing Obama was essentially for “the greater good,” during a time in our country where the economy is falling apart and our leaders are constantly failing the people.

It was in that defining moment that I realized this man would win this race.

My eyes filled with an overwhelming amount of tears as I watched him finish his convention speech and saw the soon-to-be First Lady approach the podium beaming with joy to embrace her husband. The tears were in hopes that the struggles of our ancestors were not in vain.

From then on I was confident that change would come. I was a believer.

Today I let the events of last night soak in completely. And as I did, another believer of change came to mind. One of my favorite historians and civil rights activists, W.E.B. Dubois, spoke of “the Veil” and the feeling of double-consciousness that exists within all blacks in America in his book, The Souls of Black Folk.

“One ever feels his twoness-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”

I have felt the presence of double consciousness in my life, yet I, like so many others, have found the strength to lift “the Veil” and strive for success despite inevitable adversity. Actually, I guess I’d have to say I have a feeling of triple consciousness, for I am a woman, yet I am also black and an American.

Where and to whom does my duty lie? Can all three spirits dwell in truth?

That’s when I realized that despite this historical victory, America will never be truly colorblind. One would think that racism can be eliminated as as we become a more progressive nation. However, the idea of race is a socially-constructed faucet of our society that has been instilled in us for hundreds of years, from the time our ancestors from The Motherland were sold into American slavery up until today.

We will always see race. Yet, with Obama’s presidential win we have proof that “the greater good” can at least trumph race, which means a change has come. The best part about this change is that it has inspired and brought together millions of people with a common goal to move this country forward.

“Not in my lifetime will we ever have a black president,” has been a recurring thought in the minds of  people like my parents and grandparents who endured more racial struggles than I will ever truly know. Now, a new mindset has emerged. It is one of confidence and hope that says, “Yes, we can!”

Indeed, we can and have.

Filed under: Culture & Commentary , 2008 Presidential Election, America's First Black President, Barack Obama, Grant Park Speech, Historical Election, President Barack Obama, Yes We Can

Toni Morrison Returns With New Novel

Toni Morrison is my all-time favorite novelist, so when I heard she was finally penning a new book, “A Mercy,” I was ecstatic that I’d be able to add her ninth effort to my book collection. Like her Pulitzer prize-winning novel, “Beloved,”  “A Mercy,”  centers around the separation of a black mother and daughter during the 17th century slavery period, where a grave sacrifice is ultimately made. The mother sells her young daughter to a stranger in exchange for payment of her master’s debt, all the while with the hopes her daughter will have a better life. Consequently, the novel explores the young daughter’s life in the home of her new master, where she is searching for the love and acceptance she never had from her mother. What’s different about this novel is that Morrison also explores the plight of non-black characters who are indentured servants. And unlike many of her other novels, many of the central white characters are sympathetic. In a recent NPR interview, Morrison explains that she wrote the book to remove race from slavery by pointing out that white slaves had just as many hardships as black slaves and were often unable to buy themselves out of slavery. However, she does acknowledge that their experience was different in a way. “The only difference between African slaves and European or British slaves was that the latter could run away and melt into the population. But if you were black, you were noticeable,” she says. In the end, Morrison hits us with a narrative that is lyrical and moving without being overly-sentimental. Her characters are rich and layered and while she revisits some of the same themes from some of her earlier works, such as sacrifice, femininity, identity, forgiveness and love, the novel doesn’t seem like a mere repackaged formula. Her novel will be available for purchase November 11.

Toni’s Best Novels

If you haven’t read all of Morrison’s novels yet, I’m ranking them all!

1) Song of Solomon, the coming-of-age tale of Milkman, the novel’s young black male protaganist who embarks on a quest to discover his family’s ancestry and in turn find himself. With memorable characters and an ambigious ending, Morrison’s penned a well-plotted masterpiece.

2) Beloved, a mother’s ultimate sacrifice: kill her baby rather then see her enslaved gives rise to a haunting tale of redemption, sacrifice, and love. Exploring the brutal realities of slavery by focusing on a mother and daughter who struggle to lead a life of normalcy after escaping from slavery, while being haunted by the incarnation of the mother’s dead daughter, is one of Morrison’s most beloved novels.

3) The Bluest Eye, her debut novel is a tear-jerker, but its examination of racial identity in the eyes of an abused black teen who yearns for blue eyes is powerful.

4) Paradise, although not praised for being one of her most accessible, this female-centered novel is well constructed from start to finish and takes a literary risk in that the entire book is written in flashbacks and has interlocking characters. The story revolves around the conflict between a group of women who live in a secluded convent and the sexist men of Ruby, a fictitious all-black town.

5) Sula, the story of two black female heroines who grow up together and later grow apart as they seek parallel paths in life. The novel answers the question: what is it like to be an black american female with authenticity.

6) Jazz, a historical novel set in 1920s Harlem pays homage to the Harlem Renaissance and the emergence of jazz music with its style of writing which uses the call and response technique, which gives the characters in the novel room to explore the same events from different viewpoints. Centered around an act of violence (a man’s young mistress is shot and killed at a party), the novel is the story of a  love triangle filled with a myriad of themes, including jealousy,  redemption, and spirituality.

7) Love,  this non-linear story plots the lives of several women and their relationships to the late Bill Cosey, the beloved but also flawed central black male character, before and after his death.

Tar Baby, an exploration of the forbidden love between a privileged black woman and a poor black man reveals racial divides within the African American family as a result of American racism, and class issues.

Filed under: Reviews , A Mercy, book preview, books, literature, toni morrison