I have spent this entire day watching all of the coverage of this historical presidential election. My media overdose was done for countless reasons, but mostly because I didn’t want the celebration of having the first Black president elected to end prematurely in my household. I felt as if I owed it to those who made it possible for me to be able to watch the coverage in the first place, so it was a way for me and my son to pay homage to those who came before us.
In addition to paying homage, I just wanted to saturate myself in the knowledge of all of the narratives created by our ancestors who were not afraid to follow their vision. And I just loved all of the juxtapositions of Dr. Martin Luther King and President Obama. Each time I saw them, I was overcome with emotion. But I was slightly disheartened after realizing Dr. King never saw his infamous dream come to fruition.
Some of the coverage was hard to watch for other reasons, I am a pillar of strength in my son’s eyes, so I’m sure the flow of tears freaked him out. But I just wanted the stories embedded on his brain, and mine, that explained how the worn paths were created for people of color to walk down.
Another reason I continued to watch the coverage was because I needed help digesting what happened to the world last night. Most of us know, first hand, that things are very scary right now, because we live it every day. But we faced our fears in this election and we used our voices to shift the perception of the world. We decided we needed to be hopeful instead of fearful, and for that I am eternally grateful.
Out of the countless programs I watched this morning, and into the afternoon, my favorite was “The View.” That said, I have to admit I am bias because I TiVo the ladies daily, anyway. First, hot topics were flooded with emotion, but that was not the reason I was so impressed with the episode. It was because Vernon E. Jordan Jr. joined the ladies at the table to discuss last night’s election and also a book he’s promoting. I will not bore you with all of the details, but I will share what moved me most. Mr. Jordan stated that President Obama sought advice from him when running for president was just a thought, and Mr. Jordan pretty much encouraged him not to do it because he didn’t feel it was “his season.” (We all know, and he even admitted, that he was wrong), however, this was still very disheartening to me. Just think of how many times you have had a vision, but it becomes blurred by the doubt of those around you? Let’s just say, hypothetically, President Obama would have listened to this advice? Would I have still been a part of history, last night?
No disrespect to Mr. Jordan because he is a respected civil rights activist, lawyer, and a former advisor of President Bill Clinton. But I am so happy that President Obama continued to look through the lens of his own vision—versus using the view of someone else. President Obama has taught us so much about change, and I am so thankful he did not allow anyone to alter his dream, which leads to the biggest reason that I couldn't turn away from the coverage. I didn’t want my heart to stop feeling as full as it has since the announcement was made that Barack Obama will be our next president.
Who would have thought that there would be a era that included generations of people who were around during a time where Black men were being hung from trees, to a Black man being president. I mean, who in their right mind would want to turn from watching dreams become reality.
LaShon Fryer
