What This Election and Today’s Inauguration Meant to Me
In 2008 when President Barack Obama was elected, it was with this air of inspiration. It felt like a brand new day. It was history. Untainted history. People were rooting for him and he was the underdog who needed to be cheered on.
In 2012 as he went up for re-election, the atmosphere was much different. It was wrought with hate. The air was thick with tension, and tainted with the ugliness of racism. People wanted him to fail so bad they couldn’t hide it. His opponent disrespected him like no other President has been. He wasn’t the underdog but the dog they wanted to kick out the house they didn’t feel like he should have been in.
We saw it. And we fought against it. All the hate they threw at this man’s feet, he stepped on it and wiped it on carpet. The welcome mat they tried to snatch from under him, he stepped on and said this is mine.
If he ever did anything beyond be the safe negro they wanted him to be, they called him Angry Black Man. In the face of hate, he was gracious.
This means more to me now than his first election did, in a way.
The man earned these four more years. He might not have lived up to all expectations but he was fighting against a Congress that hated him just for having the guts to be black in the White House.
And this fact never left me. President Obama faced hate with poise, class and charisma. And for that, I’m proud.
In the face of all the cowards (like Donald Trump) who questioned his humanity, he sneezed awesomeness. I support this dude. Not just because he’s Black but he’s a golden mirror for men everywhere who never thought they could go from street corner to senator to seat-owner in the most powerful office on Earth. Barack is the hope he speaks of because in his eternal optimism is the little endearing thing that does make him believe in change. He seems to believe in the America that some of us have lost sight of. Might be naive but they do say those silly enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.
I don’t agree with every decision he’s made as president nor do I think people shouldn’t be critical of him. No. I just think what he represents is incredibly important and I can’t help but be proud about it.
Today, Barack Obama got sworn in for the 2nd time as the President of the United States and it’s amazing to see. We never thought we’d see a black president in our lifetime and here he is for a 2nd time with that hand on that SUPER old Bible. Yes.
Welcome to term 2, Mr. President. Don’t let us down.
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25 Comments
Hallelu!
And Michelle,, lady, tell us more about those gloves!
You have put into words everything I am feeling about our president. Thank you Luvvie, beautifully written.
*standingovation*
For the words in this post and for President Barack Obama.
LOVE this post. Aunty Chelle: give us the deets on the gloves you and the girls are wearing ( and the deets on the boots wouldnt hurt either )
I call her Auntie Mesha LOL. She reminds you of that favorite aunt the one you cant wait for her to be tired of stuff. Oh you dont like them shoes Auntie? I’ll take em. Oh that coat is getting old? Let me get rid of that for you. I love me some Mesha O baby. Her husband is cool too.
Amen.
This captures the sentiment of many exactly! I was so consumed by relief from the fear of being lead by W. Mittens that the significance of the re-election didn’t set in until later. And yes, that old bible was super unabridged, lol!
I am a South African Actrees, who is about to pack up my entire life and move to the USA, and today when MY president spoke so eloquently about welcoming the immigrant who still believs that America is the land of opportunity, I knew I was making the rght choice.I am that Immigrant! and because Mr Obama so believes in the hope of his country I do too!
I will be so proud to stand up and say THATS MY PRESIDENT!!!!
P.s Thanks Luvvie for a great blog!
– @TarrynNSteyn
Your words brought tears to my eyes; Not because of laughter the way you often do but because your words resonate all of the emotion that I feel today. Because this man is in office my six year old son and four year old daughter have said on many occasions that they will be president one day. My heart melts each time I hear them say it. And I quitely thank President Obama for making such affirmations true. I have not agreed with some of his decisions but he’s a black man like my father and uncles and brothers and cousins. And for that I too am eternally proud. This is a great piece Luvvie!!
THIS.
President Barack Obama is an inspiration! He handles so much adversity and still manages to rise above.
Wonderfully written, Luvvie!
AMEN! Beautifully written! You have spoken for the people.
Well said Luvvie……well said…….wished i had a little sister like u 🙂
You expressed so well the sentiments and emotions that many of us feel on this historic day. Amen, Luvvie, and thanks so much!
Luvvie, I came STRAIGHT to your blog after the speech, because I KNEW no one would sum up how I feel today like you would. I love your way with words – I feel so touched by your description of what today feels like! You have been blessed with a gift, and we’ve been blessed with a leader of this nation who has ALL of our best interests at heart. Great recap Luvvie!!!
Well said Luvvie…..your words brought tears to my eyes. Thank you…..thank you for offering perspective during a time when we so often are narrow-minded in our criticisms and short on our compliments of how this President has handled himself in the face of so much hatred. Thank You.
All of this Luvvie, and then some. On another note, peep Boehner in the pic behind Michelle looking saltier than Bin Laden’s armpits. Haters can not and will not stop a man whose time has time. Let Barack be GREAT!
This line made me tear up, “Barack is the hope he speaks of because in his eternal optimism is the little endearing thing that does make him believe in change.”
I completely agree. I’ve really had a hard time dealing with the dialogue of people who did not vote for Barack Obama. They are entitled to their opinion but it just got so personal and so mean. I have so much respect for him and his family for staying above it all. I struggled and ahem, may have failed, in my attempt not to call people names when they were disrespectful to him. But he didn’t. He stayed classy. So proud to have him as our president!
Fabulous article.
Lovely article!
That said, the white faces behind him don’t seem too pleased with the swearing in.
[…] but I was running the streets all day so I wasn’t able. I did write one post though, about what the election meant to me. Did you read that? Aight go read it and come […]
Everything you said Luvvie.
Plus this.
In November 2007, Michelle Obama did an interview with NBC that changed my view of the world. She was talking about why at that point, Barack was still trailing Hillary Clinton among black voters.
She spoke about the “natural fear of possibility” in the black community and said this:
“We haven’t dealt with it and it’s hurting all of us. It’s hurting all of us.We can’t afford to have generations of children of any race believing they can’t be exactly who they think they should be.”
I’m not American. I’m from the Caribbean and live in a place where I am not in the minority and where our leaders look like me. But still, there was that “natural fear of possibility” – the idea that there are still certain things even in this society that are reserved for others – because of inherited wealth or privilege or advantages or influence.
I say all that to say this – Obama’s victories weren’t just for Americans. It was for all of us – from Canada to the Caribbean to Brazil, who may have thought that there were still things we couldn’t do.
Because as Luvvie said, if Obama had that eternal optimism that he could be President of the United States – something we thought was a craaaaazy idea less than 10 years ago – then there isn’t a damn thing that the rest of us in the diaspora can’t do. We really can achieve anything at all.
THE HEAT COMING FROM BOEHNNER (SP?) BEHIND MICHELLE IS PRICELESS! LOL
Awesome post girl. I agree 100%. Thank you for sharing.
Amazing! I’m not American, but I admire President a lot. He’s an inspiration to everyone. Just impressive!
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/news-and-views/opinion/an-open-letter-to-hillary-rodham-clinton-20170120-gtvbd1.html