My Obama Moment

I am so grateful to be living in a world where I have been told of the civil rights movement, where I was born about 5 minutes from Black Wall Street, and where today, we have an amazing leader who is multi-racial, brilliant, charismatic and will very likely be our next president.

The interesting thing is that all who know me, know that I am most proud of being black and female. Simply because I think black is beautiful and being a woman means being passionate. Now, I have a more complex explanation for my infatuation with my race and gender, but this scratches the surface...enough for now.

That said, I initially was on the fence about who had my vote. I was comfortable with the Clinton's, they had a familiarity with me. Now I understand that it's this technique they were using called low-information signaling that had me lovin the Clinton's. LIS is basically a method of distracting voters to focus on stupid stuff that has nothing to do with the "issues." (See this article in Time Magazine for more info on LIS.)

This clever-media-manipulation has always been done and always will. It's used in the Obama campaign too.

Ummm...okay, my point is- that's why I loved the Clinton's. Ignorance on my behalf, I'll take that.

Just plain trickery I tell you.

So, I listened, I read and I started to understand that this man (Obama) gets it.

Then I became Obamafied. I volunteered with the campaign when it was here in Texas and would later become a delegate in my precinct. My Obama Moment, was on March 4, 2008 at MacGregor Elementary on the day of the Texas Primaries.

I pull up in my Obama gear, sign in-hand, ready to spread the HOPE and ensure that Obama wins in Texas. First thing I see is this Japanese, middle-age man. He's on the corner, in his Obama shirt and holding his sign while yelling, "Obama!"

I later found out that this man knew very little English, besides words like...Democrat, Obama, Caucus, etc...

His wife on the other hand, spoke English very well. She was a member of the Japan House of Councils. She was a college professor, and was once an International student (see where I'm going with this?)

She asked me what was my Obama Moment? I thought about it for a second, and replied with, "The entire Obama Movement is my moment. I'm a college student, from a low-income family, I feel like the bar keeps being raised...like dreams are unattainable because of economical disadvantages, and I do want to see what this world has to offer me...that's what the Obama campaign is all about."

By the end of the night she'd given me a T-shirt with the face of the President of the Democratic Party of Japan...she and I connected. I told one of my fellow Obama loyalists, "I'm International Now." By the end of the night, I realized that I'd just experienced my Obama moment. I was in my Obama Moment.

I connected with a middle-aged Japanese Politician whom had flown across the country, with her non-English speaking husband, to come to Houston to what is commonly known as The ward (i.e., 3rd, 4th, 5th), but now is referred to as "midtown," to spread the HOPE.

Since then I've been told by non-blacks, "He's not too black,"-when referrering to their comfort with him.

I've heard people of Mexican descent say, "This country is for white people."

I read in Time Magazine that a subscriber whom is black and almost 60 years old feels that this is a white man's world, and Obama better have a conservative, southern Caucasian American on his ticket (the subscriber said these were her thoughts with no animosity). I believe it.

Some people can't grasp the idea of Black Male President, White Female VP.

I've heard educated, upper-class Europeans say, "I'm voting for Hillary."

Delusional, I tell ya.

I personally don't care about people's deep-rooted prejudices. Those will always exist. There will always be those who say things like:

"He's only half black."
"He talks white."
"He's not you know, black-black."

But because my BLACK RADAR is always in tune. I'll be the first to say, "He is definitely a black man."

And while he may address the ills in black society openly...he does so because he truly HOPES for the greatest for the African American population.

Gloria Naylor said, "We have yet to feel within this country that we are home." Barack Obama as president, will welcome us home.