A Letter to Black Barack Obama Supporters

November 5th, 2008 | By

To my Black People

Yesterday, you came out in droves to elect the first black president. You volunteered and knocked on doors because you really wanted change. Or did you?

I had to be gracious to Barack Obama but you will not be that lucky. This is what I got out of yesterday. I went to the polls and watched as black people called other black people and told them to get up and go to the polls. It excited me so much, I almost drunk the Kool-Aid. I loved the feeling of standing in that line watching the numbers increase. I thought we can actually make change.

You may be saying to yourself, how can you blast us, we won. To that I say, Are you saying we had the power to make an impact this entire time and we just didn’t? For years we have been complaining that there is no place for black people in our government and you believed it.

Someone else had to come along and give you that dream. We are still in trouble. Barack Obama will only be president for a term or two. After he fades, will the change message fade with him?

You don’t even get it do you. See, those excuses you use will become publically nonvalid. Tongues will loosen when talking about race because a major barrier will be gone. I will be one of the first. Martin Luther King Jr. would not be proud of you. He would be proud of Barack Obama, but not of you.

See, he had a dream that one day a man would not be judged on his color. You take that to mean black people will be accepted. I take it to mean, we have to let go of our own prejudices. I understand the pride you feel today. I feel it too. But if your sole reason for voting was the color of Barack Obama’s skin, then we still have a long way to go.

I do have hope though. As I watched Obama’s victory speech, I gained a little respect for him. We actually think alot a like. We agree that this is just the first step. Change will not come just because we have a black President. It will only come when you start taking the first steps.

Please tell me you will not let him down. Please tell me you won’t take the hope you have today and let it fade when the times continue to be tough. Please tell me you will look at the next black man on the street and think of him as a brother, not as a threat. Please tell me you will go back to school because now your dreams are limitless.

Or will you take this victory, with reverence, until next time you need an excuse. I’ve been saying all along that the excuses in the black community are only figments of imagination. I’ve been saying all along, you can do anything you put your mind too.

For my efforts, I get hate and excuses as to why I’m wrong. Today, your right to preach hate because someone dreams big, is null and void. And I couldn’t be happier. My only mistakes was telling you to believe in yourself and not giving you a black face to believe in.

I can guarantee you will not be rich just because Obama is President. I can guarantee the ghetto’s will not get better just because Obama is President. I can guarantee financial stability will not come to our neighborhoods just because Obama is President.

It will come because we get out in numbers like we did on election day. If we put the faith in ourselves that Obama has in us, we can move mountains. It’s not enough that we have the first black President, if we don’t do something with the opportunity. If we wait for answers to our problems to fall out of the sky, this will be all in vain.

Oh yeah, your vote wasn’t enough. Understand that. Yes, black people came out in huge numbers to vote for Obama but so did alot of white people. Another one of your excuses crushed. No white person wants to see a black person elected; How wrong you were. Make sure you take that with you to your job interview. America cares less about color. We care about always moving forward.

With your vote and excitement, the criticism will only get worse. White people who still carry hatred will have ammunition if we let down Barack Obama. If we continue as we were after voting for change, it wil be an impossible arguement to win. If we have a black President, why are still complaining about inequality?

Is there still a need for affirmative action or is the playing field level? Why are all these groups allowed to exist that only cater to one race, aren’t we past that? Aren’t the laws fair because they are governed by a black man? Why are you still complaining about cops out to get you?

How will you answer these questions? Will you find any and every excuse to keep your excuse relevant? I really like that sentence. Will you find any and every excuse to keep your excuse relevant? Or will this be the day you say, nothing can stop me?

Please let this be the day you say, Barack Obama did it, and I can do it too. I hope in four years our arguments will be on issues not on color. Congratulations. You did it and I expect so much out of you in the future.

Sonskystar

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