Obama Wins...What Now?

It’s the morning of November 4th, 2008 and my phone texting is working overtime. It seems every fives minutes someone is encouraging me to vote or wondering if I’m in line or not. It’s funny because a mere four years ago, no one even bothered asking me these questions on election day. Not to say that four years ago democracy wasn’t as important, but Kerry hadn’t sparked the younger generation no way near a Senator Obama. Beyond Obama being an African-American, his biggest achievement is inspiring young voters. Being apart of the hip-hop community, a community that generally ignores politics (feeling that our demographic is mutually ignored by politicians), we’ve seen an unimaginable change of heart. You see young voters believing in someone, and actually being enthusiastic about the democratic process.
Maybe that’s why after the tenth text message I received concerning this election didn’t bother me as much as it would have four years ago. Even though I don’t have the energy to tell everyone “I voted last week,” I do share their enthusiasm. Even though my vote has already been casted, I can’t help but feel that I’m in line with so many young Americans as I type this around 12:30 in the afternoon. The anxiety I feel is similar to seeing the police lights turned on behind me. I know there’s a good chance that I won’t get shot, but it can happen. That’s how I feel about McCain/Palin ticket winning, it could happen.

9pm
I’ve been stuck at my job without a television resulting in me going to Time.com every five minutes to see what’s going on. Now, I’m home watching MSNBC as the Electoral Votes add up on Obama’s behalf. And then it hits me: He wins, so now what? What stance does the young hip-hop generation need to take? How many times do we hear a minority friend or relative talk about their hardships being caused by ‘the man.’ The invisible whitey has been blamed for years, and admittedly sometimes deserved the blame. But what about the times where our hardships are of our own making? Accountability and responsibility has to be the new united way of thinking for young minorities. What better inspiration than having an African-American Commander-In-Chief? The idea of Afro-American upliftment can best be paraphrased by Chris Rock who said that he can’t wait for Obama to become president so black parents can’t stop saying to their children “you know you can be the first black president,” but if you say to white children “you can be president” they will roll their eyes and simply respond “yea, I know.”

10:55pm
It’s nearing 11pm and I’m waiting for the polls to close on the west coast so I can finish this editorial and have a drink or two. While I wait, I hear Democrats basking in glory and Republicans saying McCain didn’t have a fair shake due to Bush’s mis-governings of our nation. The real issue isn’t about left or right, but the frustration of a nation that decides to change its mind about race and leadership about this country and give an African-American a chance. So, is America ready?

11pm
Is America ready? Dammit, we better be. Obama wins.

12:00am
It's midnight and the new President Elect Barack Obama is about to hit the stage with the new First Family. After walking with wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha, Obama addressed the country with a confidence only seen from men who know what they're doing. Never have I felt so calm and had trust for an elected official as much as I do our 44th president and it was odd to me. Then after re-thinking this historic event, I was angry that this felt odd. Shouldn't we feel this sense of accomplishment and hope after elections? After a touching and inspiring speech, two things resonated with me: 1) I am so proud of my country, something that I've never really felt before and 2) change that's always been promised does seem to in fact be delivered. -PJ