It was not hard to notice what a swift run there was on the Anguillian last week. By 6 o’clock Friday evening, when I decided to obtain my copy, not realizing that there had been such a passionate consumption of the special edition, I was hard-pressed to find even one. I was made to drive hither, thither and yon before being fortunate enough to grab one of the last half-dozen or so from a busy supermarket’s shelf. And not surprisingly, ahead of me before the cashier’s counter two ladies were busy browsing through theirs.

The reason why our national paper evaporated from the newsstands so rapidly was obvious. It was due to the fact that, like many other dailies around the world, our front page featured the “presidential” photo and story of a newly “sung” black-man’s hero, President-elect Barack Obama. The world over is still enthused about how Barack deliberately and overwhelmingly defeated Republican presidential candidate John McCain at the polls on Tuesday, November 4th. It was an indelible, red-letter day not just for the U.S., but for the world.
As far as the scarcity of the Anguillian is concerned though, the newspaper shortage in Anguilla was not unique. Cities all over the world had their papers gobbled up just as fast as they were produced. In many cities of the U.S., in particular, reprints had to be done in an effort to suffice the high demand, as crowds queued up to purchase exceptionally expensive copies. Most likely, this issue would prove to be a treasured collectors’ keepsake for many years to come.
Well! Can you believe it? The United States of America has elected to the highest office of the nation its first black President. By now the news might be rather stale, but who would believe this day would ever come? It was amazing to see that on that memorable election night, just after CNN projected that the state of California would be won by Obama, reports of the polls-counting virtually ceased, and with heightened enthusiasm it was announced that America’s next president would be Barack Obama.
Chicagoans and visitors to Illinois loosened up from their teasing suspense for a victory celebration in the bitter November night’s cold. Massive crowds were hysterically jumping, shouting and waving victory signs. Exhilarated Obama supporters all over America, blacks and whites alike, were jubilant in spirit, rejoicing and crying at the same time with unchecked ecstasy.
Others, including world renown celebrities the likes of Opra and Jesse, were contemplatively brought to tears, as in Grant Park Chicago the President-elect was making his first post-election victory speech which begun thus: “They said… they said this day would never come!” Those tears that sprung from that passionate speech must have been tears of joy as well as tears of reflection – reflection on the pangs and pains of America’s black history.
Look how far we have come! Today, with the uncontested, landslide victory of President-elect Obama, the most common words on the lips of many negroes are: “We have made it; it is high time for a black president to occupy the Whitehouse.” But for some, they thought “the day would never come”.
Anyway, let me make a point: Generally speaking, I am not one who goes out of my way to glorify the achievements of “black” people. In my view, people are people whether black, yellow, red or white. My view of “black achievement” is that whatever commendable acts blacks engage in, whatever noble feats blacks achieve, whites achieve such just as well. It’s just a matter of the “human” factor of life. As a matter of fact, God has, without discrimination, given gifts and abilities to the entire human race. And there is no racial division or segregation of blacks or whites with Him.
So really, again generally speaking, I do not see why there should be so much hype among blacks concerning the novelties of black achievements. Ordinarily, I don’t see why people should be so excited when a black does something well, making it seem as if certain accomplishments are to be only attributed to whites.
Whether black or white, success comes through faith, confidence, hard work and endurance, mingled with an out-going demeanor that demonstrates one’s grit and tactfulness. None of us, regardless of our color, is immune to defeat. Likewise, none of us, whether black or white, is exempted from victory. So in my view, when a man achieves, we should congratulate him and not primarily the color of his skin. We should applaud “the content of his character” – his humility; his wisdom; his tact; his integrity; his appeal – not his complexion. To do otherwise would, in itself, draw a racial connotation. And racism, as we know it, is what we blacks pitifully complain about whenever whites pose the slightest offensive.
Notwithstanding, it is obvious that this black man’s victory is one of a vastly different caliber. It’s a striking phenomenon. A black president of the United States? “They said this day would never come!” A new tide of history has turned, and America has come a long, long way, for the black ancestry there has experienced a grueling past marked by social hardship and oppression.
Reflecting on the days of racial abusive treatment in the mid-fifties, today blacks can’t help but exhibit a sense of pride. It is not hard to see why. However, such pride is much more rewarding and worthwhile when it is tempered with an appreciative degree of gratitude. Blacks have been treated as dirt, but like the dust, they have risen – so says black poet Dr. Maya Angelou in her poetic work entitled “And Yet I Rise”.
We reflect upon the resilient battles fought by the likes of black activist Rosa Parks. She and the blacks of her era were forced to succumb to white bigotry, but as a relentless people, they refused to submit. They survived in a period when “Jim Crow” laws were imposed upon people of color. These laws supported policies for separate schools, segregated churches, hospitals, and separate rest-rooms to be used exclusively by scorned, down-trodden blacks.
As an economic benefit to America’s transportation industry, blacks then were at least allowed to ride on the same bus with whites, but they were discriminately required to occupy an inferior section of back seats. It was in 1955 when Parks refused to surrender her middle seat to a white man, that a massive transportation revolution took center stage in the prejudice-riddled state of Alabama. Imagine, Rosa was imprisoned for her own rights; but her supporters boycotted city bus travel, and the public transport system was virtually crippled for almost a year.
It was a horrific age for blacks, in as much as four little innocent black girls in 1963 were brutally bombed in a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama. This carnage was directly due to the hatred, rivalry and bitter resentment which whites harbored against under- privileged negroes. Back then, blacks had no right to freely vote. Back then, colored people could not share in the political directorate. Back then, many were killed as they stood up in protest for having a say in the governing process.
But, in Selma Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King through an emotional dream visualized the potential that one day in the future blacks and whites would really love each other in tolerable co-existence. He recognized that, obviously, black people possess vast measures of ability and unending potential, just as whites do. Thus, he fearlessly declared: “We must work passionately and unrelentingly to do all we can to make this American dream a reality.”
It was the sour scourge of discrimination and injustice that weighed on Dr. King’s mind when he made his resounding “I have a Dream” speech. He referred to a day when America will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”. Obama’s victory has realized that day; however, many thought the day “would never come”.
But King saw the black man in one pan of the scale and the white man in the other, enjoying a leveled balance of equality – not lopsidedness. Throughout the years, King’s vision of mutual respect and equality has caused the black man to hope. His vision courageously motivated black Americans and enabled them to refuse to believe that they were just a low-class commodity: an inferior item, bound under the pressures of the white majority and “Jim Crow” racial tactics.
Today, though remnants and reminders of racism may still persist, blacks have become more sensitized than ever to the ideals of equality. King’s dream of equality and hope is symbolic of the attraction and romance that existed between a black man from Kenya and a white beauty, uniquely named Stanley-Ann Dunham from the Sunflower State of Kansas. They created a short-lived union that has produced for American societies, both black and white, the promise of a young ambitious lad named Obama – one who would contribute his innate talents and leadership skills first to America and eventually to the world.
Likely, it was Dr. King’s dream that helped to develop the roots of inspiration so that Obama could boldly aspire to the level of the United States presidency. It has been a rugged climb, yes, but Barak’s courageous spirit of tenacity drove him to surmount all discouraging huddles. Still, “they said this day would never come.”
I, like billions around the world, declare that I am moved by Obama’s admirable victory mainly because I feel that he has, with much confidence and candor, taken the risk to resolutely succeed at launching his bid for his nation’s first office. Some twenty-one months ago, Obama boldly stepped up to the challenge in the face of criticism and cynicism. But he was undaunted and moved throughout his campaign with unswerving faith and confidence, not forgetting or neglecting his Afro roots.
This one black man was endowed with purpose and guided by the conviction that in America, where dreams come true, anything is possible. Propelled by his campaign slogan, “Yes we can”, Obama has now poised America to benefit from a new day of much needed “change”.
As President, Barack Obama realizes that “change” is required for turning America’s teetering economy around for the better; “change” is necessary for devising foreign policies that would provide for a kinder, more tolerant, yet more assertive America; change is essential for more amiable diplomatic relations with global neighbours. And, of course “change” is requisite for the dawn of a brighter day for the American middle-class, for whom Obama has so passionately made promises of prosperity throughout the course of his arduous campaign.
As I spoke with a fine acquaintance the day following his astounding victory, she plaintively noted with a deliberate air of gratification and anxiety: “It is one thing to win; but it’s another thing to lead.” Perhaps she too could not have imagined that “this day would ever come”. Well, I think the man is simply fit as a fiddle for the fight – and the fight ahead is intense.
And so, some forty years after the death of Dr. King, at the age of 47, Barack Hussein Obama is scheduled to be sworn in as the 44th President of America on January 20th. How remarkable!
When that day comes, I pray that He would, like King Solomon of old, be resolved to remain humble enough to desire nothing more for his administration than the wisdom, knowledge, understanding and guidance which God alone can afford. I wish him much success as he would endeavor to lead America’s people into new paths of hope – hope for regaining national prosperity, peace and social fulfillment. May God bless Obama, and may God bless America.

By James R. Harrigan

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