The Moment And Me

Twelve hours from now, Barack Obama will be sworn-in as our nation’s forty-fourth president.

However, unlike untold millions of Americans (and a great majority of my friends), I will not be be at a party or in Washington, D.C.

Instead, I will be in my central Jersey office, watching The Moment unfold online.

This is not to say that I am not as proud or excited. On the contrary, I’m just as ecstatic as anyone. And despite questioning the significance of his election to the “true believers” and conservatives alike, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to witness the presidency of man who has the political capital to do great things. Yet, like Election Day, I am personally served by taking in the events from afar.

Since I am literally a thousand miles away from my family, I witnessed Obama’s election victory with those who I deem to be the closest to me. It was not a rowdy, dancing celebration with bottles popping. Instead, it was a somber moment to take in what we were just witnessing and how the course of our nation’s history forever be changed. At the moment, it was fait accompli that I would have to be in the District of Colombia for the inauguration. (I mean, how could I not be there, we just elected the first president of color!) But, time and common sense made me understand that the best place for watching history would be alone.

The last three days have be fun to view and hear the festivities taking place in our nation’s capital. The concerts, the procession, the celebration is at a scale never witnessed before for the changing of power. Listen to the phone calls on radio or witness the news accounts and it is obvious that everyone wants a role in history. Everyone has their own personal story about how our next president has affected their lives. Everyone is wishing him well. Everyone acting as if the grey skies that have hovered over our nation for the past eight years have now been magically lifted.

But in the confines of my office, I will personally have the chance to realize what his inauguration means to me, undisturbed by the hoopla that is associated with this particular event. Like my personal accomplishments, I do not seek revelry in The Moment. Instead, it is merely a chance to acknowledge the task and be prepared to move to the next challenge. I mean, why bring notice to something that is already garnering attention. And the task for President Obama will be to move a nation, in the grips of an occupation in Iraq, a battle in Afghanistan, a “cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip, and an economic meltdown of historic proportions – just to name a few items of major concern.

Instead, The Moment will be an opportunity for me to think of what his swearing means to me. I can recall the various times in elementary school when I was questioned for reading “radical” Black literature, in high school wanting to go beyond Dr. King’s “dream” and discuss his campaign for the poor and anti-Vietnam stance, having to “justify” my acceptance into top tier programs for my undergraduate and law degree, and various “cultural” discussions that have been held weekly, if not daily, dating back to my elementary school days. Even more, The Moment will be a chance for me to reflect upon the contributions that Americans of color have made to this land – only to be told, implicitly or explicitly, that this land was (not) “made for you use and me”. (That Capitol that Obama will stand in front of – created by slave labor from the deforestation of the area before its construction to the very edifice without so much as an acknowledgment of their work.)

The Moment will also give me a moment to reflect that a family of color will be the standard bearer for the American family lifestyle. From a power couple, with the intelligence and style to bring about a second Camelot, and two adorable children that we will watch evolve over the course of four (no, let’s say it now, eight years). And this is just over twenty years when many Black Americans scoffed at”The Cosby Show” and the notion that it wasn’t realistic.

The Moment will finally show the rest of the nation, and the world, that Obama’s presidency states that at the end of the day, all Americans have the same desires. Much like religion, we all may have different routes on how we want to get to our final destination, but it is the final destination that we all have in common. Despite our differences, we ultimately want to achieve the same goal.

For me, it would be impossible to have these reflections amongst millions of others. The sound system, security, and scores of people would do their best to take away from The Moment.

Instead, I will take in the events from my corner of the world. Technology, in the form of email, texts, and phone calls will connect me with those who I cherish the most and give me the impression that we’re all watching The Moment together.

Sure, memories of a lifetime will be had just hours from now on The Mall.

But I will have mine and they will be just as special.

~ by B.C. on January 20, 2009.