Obama – A Breath Of Fresh Air
by Donna Shannon
Contributing Editor
 
I was supposed to write an article about the recent Washington, D.C. march, but I couldn’t make the words come -- too disillusioned by the lack of national follow-up planning.  It was suggested to me that it’s up to individuals in their own neighborhoods to follow-up.  Easy to say, but the fact is we need leadership, examples to follow.  We all want to do something but individually very few of us know what to do or how to get it done, or have the necessary resources to do it if we did know what and how.  So I took time out to focus on other things.
 
I have been newly motivated to write by this latest United States miracle - a Black man leading in the current race to become the democratic party's presidential candidate!  I never thought that would happen in my lifetime.  We have lived to witness a rather amazing bit of American history in the making.  I did not support Obama at first, for the sole reason that I feared for his and his family's safety.  There is a special kind of racist hate that is alive and well in this country and if Obama gets too close to the presidency, it will be no surprise if some of these hate-filled people try to take him out.  The kind of people who bombed a church in the south during the early civil rights movement and murdered four little Black girls who were inside, who a few years ago dragged a Black man tied to a truck through the streets to his death; who last year got happy about displaying hangman's nooses around the country to remind us of the lynching's they’d still be doing if they could get away with it.  But you have to know that these people are not the majority of Whites in America.  If that were the case, it’s highly unlikely that Obama could have achieved his caucus victory in Iowa (a state populated by over 90% Whites).
 
Well my Brothers and Sisters – Black, White, and everything else – what are we going to do now?  I’ve heard some silly reasons for not supporting Obama.  Let me just say that if you don’t have documented proof that he has ever said or done anything worse than anyone else who is running, I think it is foolish not to give this breath of fresh air a chance.  He is not just the lesser of a number of evils from which we are usually forced to choose.  He’s been changing voters’ minds and gaining support because he is consistent with what he says, he directly addresses America’s major concerns, and he delivers an inspiring message of hope for Americans who have grown used to feeling hopeless and powerless to change anything.
 
If Obama is brave enough to take on this challenge, how can I not support him?  He might just be the answer to bringing more unity to this country, being that he is half Black and half White.  He is certainly competent and qualified, if not greatly experienced in international politics  - and maybe that is actually a blessing since those who do have that experience seem to have sold their souls to the devil to get it.  If Whites are willing to give Obama a chance, what in thunderation (can’t say what I want to say) is wrong with many of us Black folks?!?