stina

I am very excited about Obama being the next president. It's the first time in my life I haven't hated the president. It's the first time in my life I actually feel proud of our country. Watching the videos of other countries celebrating... it was very moving.

I grew up in a small southern town and the town nearby had a sign at the end of the bridge that read, "No ni#@%ers allowed". There were places that white people went and places that black people went. The black children sat on one half of the classroom and the white on the other. Racism is so far from dead. It's just easy to forget about it when you live in new england.

When I was a kid and they asked everyone what they wanted to be... none of the black kids said president. I never thought about it before... I just kind of brushed it off. But then I realized that maybe they didn't think it was possible? I NEVER thought I would be alive for the first black president. Just from how I grew up. I thought we were so far off.

My mother-in-law is a teacher in Lawrence and a lot of the children there are dominican. She said they were cheering and saying that maybe someday they could grow up to be presidents too. Imagine the hope those children feel. They are always trying to be blonder and say they are more white than the other kids. And finally, they have a reason to feel they might be equal to white people. They think, "If a black man is the most powerful and respected man in the country, maybe I can be respected and grow up to really be somebody too."

I think it's such a powerful choice that our country has made. I'm really so glad that it happened in my lifetime and amazed that I got to see it happen. Now if I ever have a kid, maybe they won't ever know that terrible sick feeling of listening to someone degrade another person for their color. I can hope....