Good Morning my fashionable friends!
I’m sure you’ve read the newspapers and watched the reports on television; the news has spread far across the limits of our ears and eyes, Barack Obama is the president. Barack Obama is the first BLACK president. Barack Obama is going to bring change. Barack Obama is the new Martin Luther King. These are statements that ring true in our ears, and for the next four years, change has come, God has blessed us. Black people will be held on a much higher standard – and we should be. The black family has no choice but to move forward because of this day. Mr. Obama’s win is great for this country, but it is even better for black men. I am not a black man, but I have a brother, cousins, and a god-son who continually need strong men to look up to.

As I stood in downtown Nashville last night, celebrating, I just had to stop and look at the men, grown men, strong young men, who were crying in the streets. They could not believe it. Their hardy laughs were stifled by solemn groans of incredible disbelief and pride; He actually did it! My cousin called me yesterday, she voted at city hall in my hometown of Springfield, MA, and she said she was so overwhelmed to see thugs and corner boys taking off their bandanas and baseball caps, walking into the voting booth and casting their ballots. She remarked, “It was an incredible sight to see.”

So, now we have a job to do, we have to step up our game. We have to stand behind our new president. This is not a time to be lax or nonchalant, the real work has begun. President Obama cannot fix our country and our race by himself. Those same young black men, corner boys, and thugs have to put down their old ways and pick up a new mantra – I Can Do It! You can be the man your mom always told you that you can be, you can marry that young lady and make her a proper wife, you can stop selling drugs, you can graduate from high school and college, and you can do it.

Ladies, I will not leave you out. Michelle Obama is an awesome woman. She is educated and talented. She believes in her husband – even when no one else would believe in him. I could only imagine the pep talks and the late night conversations they have shared in the past couple of months. I know there were times when she wanted to leave, but she didn’t. We need more women like Michelle. Ladies, we have to stick behind our good strong men. We have to help them believe that all things are possible. We have to be there for them when the chips are down.

So, in closing, I am immensely happy that Mr. Obama is now President Obama. There are so may people who fought for us to get this far, now who will take the next leg of the race. The presidency is not the only office available. We need more upstanding black CEO’s, business owners, City Council members, PTO Presidents, Mentors, Youth Workers, Pastors, and every job description known. Fight a good fight, make it clean, be humble, and know your info, and that will take you far.

Luv Ya~

Ms. Lyssa