The symbolism of it all

In the comments section of my piece about Obama's commencement address to the graduates at Booker T. Washington High School titled Inspiration, Rikyrah made a comment that captured the moment profoundly and spoke to the power of symbolism. She agreed to let me post it up here.

Smartypants: What is happening between PBO and these kids is palpable. I have been struggling all afternoon trying to put it into words...they just won't come, so I gave up. It strikes something very deep and profound in me.

Rikyrah: I understand what you mean. I really do. I went back and looked at my January 2008 endorsement of Senator Barack Obama, and I wrote this:

2. The Election of the First Black President
The symbolism of it. Don’t short shrift symbols. They are very powerful, and very meaningful. There is a Black kid somewhere, and his parent, grandparent, teacher, is telling him/her that they can be anything that they want to be. You have to tell kids that, because you can’t begin them with the obstacles that would be placed in their way. You teach them later, as they age, about how to deal with the obstacles. To be able to point to PRESIDENT Barack Obama as an example of success – through education, hard work, and skill – that you can use your mind and achieve unimaginable success- yes, that’s a powerful symbol.


In everything the President has done since being in office, THIS has been underreported, and underrated. When Black parents used to tell their children that they could do ANYTHING in America, they were LYING TO THEM.

PERIOD.

NO other way to say it. But, they said it anyway, because Black parents love their children as deeply as anyone else, and they didn't want to put anymore shackles on their children's dreams than being Black in America would already provide for them.

Barack Obama makes that statement FINALLY TRUE for all those Black parents. No, not every child will grow up to be President, but the child, who might have stopped with a Bachelor's degree, might continue onto a PhD. A child interested in science might invent something years from now.

They see this self-made Black man, and Barack Obama IS self-made, if nothing else. His father ran out on him, he was raised for a large chunk of his life by his grandparents (like so many Black youth today), and he used EDUCATION as a way out and forward. To see how the President responds with grace and dignity, with all the hatred lobbed towards him, is also inspirational. So, yes, those Black kids look at him, and they see possibilities for themselves that they never have before, and will shoo away those who want to be negative around them.

But, those who despise the President for being inspirational..it's not just for Black kids...they despise when they see all the NON-BLACK kids look at him too, with admiration, and RESPECT. they see all these White kids looking at this Black man with deference, and it turns their world upside down.

Plus, they know what I know, whenever something is done by a Black person, there are others that will follow. Because, a Black man became President of the United States, I know one day that there will be a Latino, an Asian and a female President.

AND, THEY KNOW IT TOO.

THey want the era of Mad Men Back, and simply put..

HELL NO, WE'RE NOT GOING BACK TO THAT..

EVER.