In 1992, Tupac said the world wasn’t ready to see a black president. Growing up, I always remembered these words and promised myself that more than anything, by the time I grew up, there would be and that I would someday, I would be the first Black woman president.
Now, when I said this I was five (yeah, I had really big dreams). I had no idea what it took to be president. I just knew that when I got older, I wanted it to be an option for me, as that option had seemingly been taken from my ancestors. Going through school with forty-three white faces plastered in my history books made it impossible for me to even conceive holding the highest office in the United States. Even still, I knew if I wanted to be president one day, I would have to be the change I wanted to see.
I remember when I first saw the change I wanted to see. People mocked his big ears, said he spoke well “for a black person” and questioned the fact that he would even run in the first place, saying they would assassinate him his first week in office and that he couldn’t run because he wasn't even a citizen.
Well 8 years, one major healthcare act and environmental reform, one birth certificate, one Navy Seal mission and many ear jokes later, he didn’t die y’all.
When I was 5, I didn’t know it, but the change I wanted to see was named Barack Hussein Obama. His melanated skin, cool vibes, and beautiful family completely changed the way I viewed politics, and more importantly, the world.
Before President Barack Obama was elected, I had no idea what politics were. I was 11. I had way more important things to be worried about, like what was playing on Disney Channel or learning the lyrics to Rihanna’s “Good Girl Gone Bad” album. I just knew that we were Democrats and Louisiana was a Red state. So, it didn’t matter what I thought anyway.
That all changed when I saw Barack Obama. His “Yes, We can” attitude was infectious and after watching him talk at a few rallies, I was hooked, just like the rest of the country. I started researching him and later, Michelle Obama, who is the epitome of a Black woman. She is definitely someone I aspire to meet one day. Even when she changed my lunch food, I was still down for her.
The Obama family, as well as Joe Biden, have made a monumental mark on society, not only in policy but Pop Culture as well. No president used the internet to communicate messages as President Obama did. Now, we are on the brink of a President who is literally tweeting his agenda to the American people. President Obama also opened his home and extended invites to people who probably never conceived even going to the White House otherwise. He created opportunities for Americans to thrive both inside and outside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
It is because of President Obama’s administration that there is a diverse group of people who now believe that anything is possible. Even though I don’t want to be President, as I did when I was 5, I still very much have my sight set on the White House in other ways. If it wasn’t for the courage of not only President Obama but this nation, to take a step into the future, I wouldn't feel nearly as inclined to dream as big as I do today. I only pray that we as a nation can take everything the President said into account and truly get out of our bubbles, walk around in each other’s skin, and make a difference in the lives of the people around us. He gave us these words, his policies, and 8 years of life he could have spent owning a basketball team to make America as great as it has ever been before. So, for that, I only have two words...
Thanks Obama.
