Even after a long campaign in which we have analyzed every twist and turn of the road together, what I have just written as the title to this piece has the clear and unmitigated ring of unreality, if one has been Black in America as long as I have.
Even after a long campaign in which we have analyzed every twist and turn of the road together, what I have just written as the title to this piece has the clear and unmitigated ring of unreality, if one has been Black in America as long as I have.
Writing some days before the Inauguration, I am sure that I am not alone in the feeling that, as Barack Obama places one hand on the Bible that once belonged to Abraham Lincoln and the other in the air, swearing fidelity to the Constitution of the United States of America, and is declared the 44th President of the United States, it will unleash an unimaginable sense of joy and pride whenever one thinks of our condition in America at that moment.
Yes, we will celebrate, some watching the parade, others attending various Balls, and we will not “come down” until it begins to be tempered by the realization that he is indeed inside the White House, in fact, in the Oval Office, and that he is facing a set of crises unprecedented in American history.
That will elicit another feeling, a feeling of anxiety, because literally the weight of this country and much of the world will be upon his shoulders, and he and his administration will be faced with the test of executing the kind of judicious solutions that have the capacity to resolve these problems.
A Black man has never faced such a test in the history of America, and although we wish him well, we also know that despite the well wishers, these crises that he inherits will be treated as his shortly and he will be judged and second-guessed at every turn in the road with respect to every proposal.
Presidents normally receive a lot of criticism and advice, but looking at administrations for 40 years now, I have never seen the weight of the advice that is descending upon Obama even before his takes office. Much of this is because of anxiety about the depth and severity of the crises such as the economy, home foreclosure and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc.
But it seems everyone wants to give Barack Obama advice, and while for many it is their job, for others, their advice smacks of a lack of confidence in a relatively young, inexperienced Black man who has come to occupy the helm of society.
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