There is probably no one in the entire world who doesn’t know that history was made with the election of Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States. But to stop at that point would negate all the work, blood, sweat and tears that Americans from all walks of life have put into making this country live up to the promises of our ancestors…where all men (and women) are created equal. That is what Dr. Martin Luther King talked about when he spoke about our “beloved country.” I’m sure that President Obama will be constantly tested. I’m sure that the old saying that black folks have to be “twice as good to get half as far” will kick in. I’m sure that the governments and others around the world will question whether President Obama is “good enough.” Those are the kind of judgments that I and other folks in my generation, the one before me and the one after me have had to face all our lives. What makes us think that is going to change now? And we should not get all excited that things are going to change overnight, because they aren’t. It took us a long time to get in this situation and it’s going to take a while to straighten things out. But I am heartened because I sense a type of energy, hope and optimism in this country that I haven’t felt in more than 40 years. But we must use that energy in a positive and constructive way and not just let it end up in the pile of a “dream deferred.” We have some serious house cleaning to do. As I sat in church last week, I heard a story that reflected one of the first things we need to do. Civil rights icon, Rev. Joseph E. Lowery has been at home recently recovering from back surgery. Rev. Lowery lives in a so-called “bourgie” part of southwest Atlanta that is populated by teachers, lawyers, doctors and others from the first generation of beneficiaries of the civil rights movement. It is also an area where there is a growing number of the nouveaux riche who are building houses in the $500,000 plus range. So, in other words, this is not exactly “da hood.” Just last week, while Rev. Lowery was recovering, someone stole his car right out of his driveway. Then they drove two blocks down the street and started selling stuff out his car. One woman noticed the name on some of the material and alerted police. That’s when Rev. Lowery discovered his car had been stolen. Here is a man who has worked all his life for the rights of Black folk and laid his life on the line many times. Yet, the same people who have benefited from his sacrifices preyed on this senior statesman. That’s just not right. We’ve got to do better. We have got to clean out our own house first before we can expect Barack Obama to clean up the mess that we now face in this country. It is also going to be interesting to see how news organizations respond to the Obama universe. That’s because many of the people who could have provided insight and perspective have been among the dramatic cutbacks that news organizations have made in the last year. There is, and always has been, a major problem in the nation’s newsrooms when it comes to diversity. Case in point… there was no person of color anchoring the election night coverage on any of the major networks. There is something wrong with that. But… we’ll save that discussion for my next word from “sisters who have something to say.”
