Dear President Barack Obama,
Today is the second week of the New Year. This should be a time for celebration, for setting new goals and looking forward to whatever the future holds. And yet, as I type this, this New Year brings with a heavy goodbye — more bittersweet than a 500-pound lemon. I have tried to start this letter before many times over the past eight years, but could never pluck up the courage to do so. You are, after all, the coolest President we’ve ever had in the White House, and knowing that America might never get another amazing Commander-in-Chief like you brings me great sadness…and also great pride as an African-American and Latina woman.
Please understand, Mr. President, that as an English Honors major thinking about going for her Doctorate, I know that this letter will be filled with many grammatical errors — and it’s on purpose. This letter is meant to give you what you have given the American people — a glimpse at one’s true character. You have truly made yourself accessible to the people, and thus, I feel absolutely no qualms in speaking to you like the laid-back and intelligent individual that you are. In fact, whenever I thought about meeting you, Mrs. Obama, Malia or Sasha, I always assumed that once I got over the initial speechlessness then I would probably converse with you on some of the hot topics of today – like abortion, the new Beyonce album, the death penalty, and Alicia Keys’ No Makeup Challenge. All of this while sipping on lemonade and homemade biscuits.
The only other thing I could think of to say in person is...thank you. A million times Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. Thank you to both you and Michelle for being the best First Couple this world has ever seen. Thank you for being an amazing father figure to two beautiful young ladies. Thank you for always trying your best as President and for always acting with the best intentions to do what is right for this country.
Most of all – thank you for bringing happy tears to my grandmother’s eyes, a septuagenarian who lived through Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, and a host of other social movements. She never thought we would have an African-American President, and ever since you came onto television at the first Democratic National Convention, I’ve seen a hope in her eyes that I’ve never seen before. For the first time, she was happy to watch the news because you were on there, and she was happy to bear all of the injustices of police brutality and crazy gas prices, if only to see you and the First Family make history every day. Thank you for bringing this hope to my grandmother’s eyes, and so many other people like her, because the young people would be nothing were it not for the older generation passing on their wisdom to us.
I was raised by my grandparents also. Because my grandfather died when I was 12, my grandma has been a fountain of wisdom, an elixir of hard truths, and an overflowing well of unconditional love. That being said, as a biracial person like yourself, I’m sure you know how important that love is growing up when you never really fit into any one group of people. I believe that it is the people who must straddle cultures that will ultimately build the bridge towards true harmony in this world. During your 8 years in office, you have established a legacy of togetherness and empathy that will permeate into every biracial child’s life when someone says that they cannot be or do something because they are either “too black” or “too light” or “too brown” or “too – whatever.” For me, your presence as POTUS proved that all of the hardships biracial people face are not in vain. Indeed, it is because of these hardships that a great leader, like yourself and many others, are born to navigate and inspire the melting pot of the United States of America.
In you, and the rest of the First Family, I see the hope all of our ancestors waited for during 300 years of slavery. I understand the strength in our sufferings and the beauty of our many battles. You all have created a domino effect of prosperity and a plethora of victories, just by being the exemplary individuals you have been in Washington, D.C.
For the African-American community, you will always be our First Family – an emblem of grace, intelligence, mastery, humility, and beauty.
Sincerely,
Kai Denay Alexander
