Comments on: I Didn’t Know That King’s Dream Was For A Black President http://www.blackinformant.com/commentary/i-didnt-know-that-kings-dream-was-for-a-black-president Engaging the culture by challenging the status quo Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:24:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Duane http://www.blackinformant.com/commentary/i-didnt-know-that-kings-dream-was-for-a-black-president/comment-page-1#comment-8995 Duane Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:45:20 +0000 http://www.blackinformant.com/?p=7214#comment-8995 My mom remembers as if it were yesterday the times growing up in South Carolina where she was not permitted to drink from the White man's water fountain, how her mom was called by her first name by the children of a White family as she cleaned their house and washed their draws. She also can tell you the times her father had to look down to the ground anytime he talked to a White man. All the older members of my family had the same experiences. So telling people like this to simply "move on" isn't always the practical thing to say. I can tell you that for some of them, yes, watching a Black man become POTUS is a historical phenomena that has a special meaning to them. They have seen and witnessed some of the darkest days of this country, unlike the rest of us who largely rely on b/w film clips for the experience. What disturbs me is that after the symbolism, many of the same family members I just mentioned live in communities where promise after promise has been made to improve schools, attract businesses, reduce government corruption or even bring in more cops. In other words, do the stuff that government is supposed to do. Some have left while others still live in those areas where every term they are reminded to vote for one particular party. This is the other side of the symbolism. Like you mentioned and unfortunately for them, their everyday lives will not be affected. In less than 24 hours, Obama will be my president. Although my family and I did not vote for him, we are committed to praying for him that he will make the right decisions for this country. I may be critical of many of his stated policies, but I have the sense enough to separate those from the man and this historical moment. My mom remembers as if it were yesterday the times growing up in South Carolina where she was not permitted to drink from the White man’s water fountain, how her mom was called by her first name by the children of a White family as she cleaned their house and washed their draws. She also can tell you the times her father had to look down to the ground anytime he talked to a White man. All the older members of my family had the same experiences. So telling people like this to simply “move on” isn’t always the practical thing to say.

I can tell you that for some of them, yes, watching a Black man become POTUS is a historical phenomena that has a special meaning to them. They have seen and witnessed some of the darkest days of this country, unlike the rest of us who largely rely on b/w film clips for the experience.

What disturbs me is that after the symbolism, many of the same family members I just mentioned live in communities where promise after promise has been made to improve schools, attract businesses, reduce government corruption or even bring in more cops. In other words, do the stuff that government is supposed to do. Some have left while others still live in those areas where every term they are reminded to vote for one particular party. This is the other side of the symbolism. Like you mentioned and unfortunately for them, their everyday lives will not be affected.

In less than 24 hours, Obama will be my president. Although my family and I did not vote for him, we are committed to praying for him that he will make the right decisions for this country. I may be critical of many of his stated policies, but I have the sense enough to separate those from the man and this historical moment.

]]> By: brotherbrown http://www.blackinformant.com/commentary/i-didnt-know-that-kings-dream-was-for-a-black-president/comment-page-1#comment-8992 brotherbrown Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:16:57 +0000 http://www.blackinformant.com/?p=7214#comment-8992 In 1963, the landscape of America was such that my parents packed up their young sons and moved out of segregated Alabama for sunny Southern California. My father, a school teacher, was earning half of white teachers were earning, and my mother, a dental hygenist, couldn't find work with white dentists in Mobile, so she caught a bus to Tuskegee each week. So you'll have to excuse them and their contemporaries if they see Obama's presidency as validation of some of the symbolism contained in Dr. King's speech. We of a younger generation take a lot of things for granted, acting like we never would have put up with the overt discrimination our foreparents faced. You can be blase about a great many things. Obama's ascendancy to the highest office in the land should not be one of them, because if you objectively analyze it, Obama's presidential campaign was innovative in every way. No, our day to day lives won't be that greatly impacted; we still have to do next month what we did last month to make our way in the world. However, I do wish Obama great success as president. In 1963, the landscape of America was such that my parents packed up their young sons and moved out of segregated Alabama for sunny Southern California. My father, a school teacher, was earning half of white teachers were earning, and my mother, a dental hygenist, couldn’t find work with white dentists in Mobile, so she caught a bus to Tuskegee each week.

So you’ll have to excuse them and their contemporaries if they see Obama’s presidency as validation of some of the symbolism contained in Dr. King’s speech. We of a younger generation take a lot of things for granted, acting like we never would have put up with the overt discrimination our foreparents faced.

You can be blase about a great many things. Obama’s ascendancy to the highest office in the land should not be one of them, because if you objectively analyze it, Obama’s presidential campaign was innovative in every way. No, our day to day lives won’t be that greatly impacted; we still have to do next month what we did last month to make our way in the world. However, I do wish Obama great success as president.

]]>