Saturday, December 20, 2008

Senator Barack Obama's win is a direct testament to every single American that there really is no limit to what you can achieve. It proves that through strength, tenacity, willingness, faith and relentless ambition, you can achieve whatever you want to achieve. As much as people discussed the Bradley effect and America's big problem with race, it turned out that Obama's passion, hard work, and very committed supporters nulled out the increasingly archaic concept that you can only go "so far" as a person of color. Black Americans in particular have fought over centuries with all their might for this very moment to arrive - and finally - it has come.

Yesterday was a big moment for me, and I am still feeling the effects of the excitement of Obama's win yesterday. As a black woman (of Caribbean descent) who has graduated from an Ivy League university and is about to graduate from a top law school, I am no stranger to the thrills of ambition. I have always loved the idea of success, and the idea that if I work really hard, I can succeed in whatever I do. Since my youth, I was surrounded by ambitious and successful family and friends, and shows like the "Cosby Show" and "A Different World" made me feel connected to a movement of blacks in America who loved success as well and embraced the notion that education is the best way to achieve it in this nation. Education has unlocked the doors for so many people (most recent example: Obama!), and allows dreams to be born and success to be lived.

Last night therefore made me realize something - that Black America, as diverse and wonderfully complex as it is, can uniformly look to Obama's win as a testament to success that is awaiting them right now. Although there many black Americans have achieved incredible amounts of success in their lives, it is important to note that more success is waiting to be born and embraced in the black community. History has proven that Black America has the strength, power and guts to be able to pull of what it asks for - guarantees of particular civil liberties, civil rights, you name it. Ambition, true ambition, the REAL ambition that lives in the hearts and souls of every human being, is enough to be able to inspire the most depressed American citizen to have faith that they can achieve the impossible. And I strongly believe that America rewards the hard work/labor, labor and faith that is required to achieve success in life. Now, it may be harder for some rather than others to get to a certain place in life, but that does not matter. Every individual has their own story to tell, and dreams do not have to disappear just because times get tough. In fact, dreams should be even more stamped into one's consciousness and mental framework when times get tough. They are what fuel ambition, and allow faith to push a person farther than they ever thought possible....

So thank you, President-Elect Obama - you have set a historical and well-earned standard for Black America. Now it is up to each and every individual to allow this breathtaking story in history to echo across the country and the world, and inspire dreams, fuel ambition, and remind people that with faith, hope, and unrelenting efforts, anything is possible!

More to come - stay tuned. :)

Written by: Kris B.