America…moving beyond the shadows

According to an article in the Charlotte Post, Obama had a telephone call with black leaders on election eve, Monday night. Included in the call were Rev. Joseph Lowery, Oprah Winfrey, Donna Brazile, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn.

After talking about the issues facing the African American community and the response to his campaign, he waxed eloquent for awhile.

“I’m convinced that not only are we going to change this country, but we’re going to change this community,” he said. “We’re going to change our sons, our daughters, our grandchildren, how they look at themselves. We’re going to transform barriers in the world. We’re going to change the hearts and minds of people around the world. That’s a powerful thing. That’s more powerful than any policy out there and any governmental program,” he said.

…

“I can imagine Mahalia and Sasha running on the South Lawn and Michelle with her elegant self. And I say to myself that that’s the kind of signal that will indicate that change really has come and that America has moved beyond the shadows,” he said.

Yesterday I was talking to a man I work with. He is in his 50’s, is African American, and grew up in Detroit. Too many of the people in his family didn’t survive. And for those that did, the majority are in prison. He has had to fight unimaginable odds to be where he is today. So now he works to pass on what he can to the kids.

As we talked about the election today, he grew almost speechless when he tried to express what it would/will mean to him to have Barack Obama be our next President. But I could see and feel the light in his eyes beginning to cast out the shadows.