YES, IT HAPPENED

Like countless others, there is no way I will ever be able to forget what happened on November 4, 2008, nor how it made me feel. In and of itself, the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States - 40 years after the civil rights era - was clearly a momentous occurrence and cause for celebration. I shouldn't have to elaborate on what this means to Black Americans and for now, I won't. Like Obama, I'm a first generation American who's roots may not be as firmly planted in US soil as those who's families have been here for several generations. Still his rise to the Oval Office is an inspiring story on both sides of the fence, so much so that volumes can be (have been and will be) written to explain why.

Although I appreciated the significance of Obama's victory immensely, it was the street celebrations that touched me most of all, especially the ones in the nation's capital. They captured the very essence of that significance. It was a historic moment that most of us were not expecting to experience in our lifetime. I've been in the DC area now for a little over 15 years and I have never seen anything remotely close to those spontaneous street celebrations that went into the the morning.

I work around the corner from the White House. As soon as victory was ensured, horns started honking nonstop - it sounded almost like Beirut. The same downtown Washington streets that are typically deserted at night were buzzing with jubilant people. I headed towards Pennsylvania Avenue in the early hours of November 5th, high-fiving smiling strangers. The chants and drums grew louder with every step as I walked up 16th Street. I stopped when I could see the mass of bodies through the fence. I just stood there for a while and took it all in - a moving experience. It didn't take very long for me to call Junius who was at Grant Park... and here we are now.

I wanted my first post to to express the significance I find in Obama's election to the White House, but to do so thouroughly at this point would be overwhelming for me and you; it would also make some of my future postings a little redundant. We will be writing about all sorts of subjects. We will be discussing the significance of Obama's story in various contexts. We will be looking for change and exploring its meaning. A Black man (fathered by a foreigner) becoming president of the United States of America is a victory for every American that is understandably celebrated all around the world, but we need to keep an eye on what follows.

Barack Obama embodied change without saying a word. There is no question that having him and his family in the White House will be an immensely symbolic change in and of itself. However, what this country needs is substantive change. I'm not very optimistic that we'll be seeing much of that... particularly as it pertains to foreign policy. Although Obama will be the US President, in this day and age he can have tremendous impact across the globe.

So what happens next? What needs to change? What will Obama do? What won't he do? What can he do? Now that reality is sinking in, we need a sober assessment of the situation. We'll be following the transition process and posting on a variety of topics up until Inauguration Day when we will begin our work in earnest. Stay tuned.