Yes, I'm aware of the rules...I'm a Journalist and I'm not supposed to show too much emotion...just cover the story, get both sides and don't show personal opinion. But last night, when Senator Barack Obama won the election and it was announced that he would become President of the United States of America, I had to take a moment and gather myself.
I had my work cut out for me in that I was covering Times Square in Manhattan where tens of thousands of people swarmed after hearing the news. There really was no room or time to pause with the hordes of celebrators cheering and dancing in the streets but I managed to pop into a cafe where I let the tears flow.
Even as I sit here and write this, I am overcome with emotion. For me, it's not so much that Obama is a black man in America who overcame major obstacles to win the top position of commander-in-chief. It goes much deeper than that. I share a similar background with Obama in that we are both children of immigrants. My father is from Liberia. Obama's father, Barack Sr., hails from Kenya. And although Obama was not close to his father growing up, he remains in close touch with his father's stepmother, Sarah, who still lives there. He calls her his grandmother.
In his book,
Dreams from My Father, Obama shares the dreams his father had, for making a life in America. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and he passed away before he was able to make those dreams a reality. But for Barack Sr., those dreams live on in his son, Barack Jr., even though he's no longer in this life.
In many parts of Africa, we look to our ancestors and all those who came before us, for guidance and encouragement to follow our dreams. As a young girl, I was taught to honor my own ancestors, even though I would never meet them. Both my mother and my father spoke of Sumnor Tamba Nyorkor, who was the chief of his village in Lofa County, Liberia. Sumnor Tamba had dreams for my father (his first-born son), Sahr Nyorkor, to achieve. Now, Sumnor Tamba too had dreams to achieve the American dream, but he passed before he was able to. So his dream lived on in my father, who came to America and made the dream come true. Now his dreams are my dreams and lives on in me. When I have children, those same dreams will be passed down to my children and so forth.
So for me, it's not just that we elected our first African-American president. It is about that strong connection between heritage and history and family and honor and perseverance and dreams. It is about making your own path, despite the roadblocks people put up in front of you. It's about never forgetting where you came from, no matter where you go. And it's about reaching back and passing the torch to all the people behind you. President-elect Obama has done all that and much more. I wish him nothing but success in his new role but I somehow already know, that because of what he's been through, and how he's handled it thus far, he'll rise up and be just fine. Here's to our new President-elect, Barack Obama.
P.S. Here's a quick peek of my night at Times Square...courtesy of the Flip Video Cam.
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