I started this on my birthday. as  I had a tradition, over the last seven years, of writing a reflective piece to honor the experiences of the passing year and to offer homage to what the future brings.  This past year, and the year 2009 have a special significance.  We had a presidential election and for the first time I got involved, voicing my views, responding to those of others, watching how humans reacted and responded to changes in nationally held social and political paradigms and documenting it all.  I decided to walk my talk; getting involved in supporting the candidates I felt best represented my political views, who had a vision for what they wanted to accomplish, and the character, intelligence, courage and competence to achieve that vision.  My birthday, my mother’s birthday and the birth date of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is January 15^th; in fact, my mother and Dr. King were born on the same day. My mother lived in a time and place where prejudice and discrimination was the norm in the small town of Franklin, Tennessee.  I am full of excitement and great anticipation, for her as much as myself, as the inauguration of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States is hours away. 

I blogged and wrote articles right up to the day of the presidential election.  I was at City Hall to work the polls on Election Day, worried over the behind the scenes chaos with the absentee ballots as human behavior became a looming factor while the minutes before the closing of the polls dwindled away.  I was determined to gain the ultimate experience of that historical night, so I dragged myself downtown to the Democrat’s party here in this so-called red state.  Lo and behold, not only did this red state turn blue, I was stunned when the words flashed on the big screen and the crowd roared, as the media announced that Barack Obama would become our forty-fourth president of the United States.  I could not help but cry.

As the months and days pass, the economy tanks, the strife between neighboring countries escalates, natural disasters continue, yet, gas prices magically drop amid all of the insanity on Wall Street and white collared crooks began to rise to the surface like cream in a bottle milked dry, a man with a plan began to gather his team, choose his plays and prepare to implement his vision of what it would take for this country to rise from the economic ashes it was mired in.  All the while, corporate media continued to beat its critical drum albeit with more covert and muted banging, and -- to its discredit -- the Republican Party did what it has always done, continuing to eat its sour grapes, while verbally cannibalizing itself.   But I was exhausted and my writing turned back to my creative self, as my book was unexpectedly picked up and published while the economy continued its freefall, taking with it the artists and art industry of all genres – from visual to literature, from film to music. 

Michael Anthony Brown, a native D.C. artist, was so inspired by the election of Barack Obama, he created an amazing painting that is priceless (and he is retaining) but did decide to share it with the world by reproducing it as a poster.  I saw the piece and was inspired to write his artist statement:

Vision. Hope. Change.  Four years ago, an unassuming voice rose from obscurity to center stage of the National Democratic Convention, initiating the most incredible political journey in our nation’s history.  A ground swell of support, a monumental grassroots effort, engaged the young, not so young, men, women, even children in a national dialogue about change. 

Barack H. Obama will become the forty-fourth President of the United States on January 20, 2009.  He will become the first American of color and African descent to attain the most powerful position in the country, transcending the myths, stereotypes, labels, and politics as usual in the process.  It is a role he does not take lightly and did not come easily.  His journey began before he was born. Thousands of steps taken through the shadows of history cleared the path Obama was destined to follow, culminating in his successful hard-fought election to an office most only dream of.  Many footsteps taken, many voices lifted, those who in their own right as ground breaking leaders, as historians, activists, artists, scientists, musicians, politicians, doctors, nurses, lawyers, ministers, housemaids, writers, and yes, community organizers who had the courage to walk their talk, who acted upon their vision and determined that they had a part to play in shaping the fabric out of which this country, our country, the United States is built.  From the life-saving heroism of Harriet Tubman, to the legal judgment of Thurgood Marshall, from the theatric voice of Paul Robeson to wordsmith Zora Neal Hurston, the dance of Twyla Tharp to the philosophy and leadership of Mahatma Ghandi, well over one hundred historical images have been artistically woven into the fabric of President Obama’s shirt and chronicled in the matting surrounding the painting.  This painting captures the demonstrated humility, integrity and heart of a man who has – as the visionary leaders preceding him – setting aside personal pursuits in sacrifice for the greater good.  And he is not alone in this sacrifice. Behind every great man there is the support of a strong and capable woman, whose greater sacrifice, along with that of family and friends demonstrates a generosity of heart and a shared vision of what can be accomplished.  Michelle Obama’s decision to support the candidacy of Barack Obama is an unsung sacrifice of great proportion.  Without her, we would not be celebrating this crossroads in U.S. history.  This work of art is a passionate delineation of history honoring our past, celebrating our future.  As a people uniting, one nation, irrevocably connected by the common crises of economic, ecological and societal devastation, working toward the common goal of resurrecting ourselves as global citizens of a diverse community, in hope of shattering the racial paradigms long held as truth,.  We each have our own journey to take, our own path to make during these challenging times.  Change is the operative action; we must begin to walk our own talk, willing to make our individual sacrifices for the common good of our families, our neighbors, our selves.  We must be realistically optimistic about what can be accomplished.  The journey will not be without challenges, neither the path nor the leader will be perfect, but with continued clarity in vision, hope in the teamed efforts made by we the people, Change will come.

Change.  Change your behavior, change your paradigm, change your mind, change your actions, change the outcome, Change.  Change takes time, change takes patience, change takes effort, change takes trying, change takes setbacks, change takes you, change takes me, Change.  Here is what I know: President Barack Obama is not superman, he is human.  He is not perfect, because humans can never be perfect, but that in itself is a separate topic and I don’t want to digress.  He will not be a perfect president; there will be missteps.  To expect miracles, to expect immediate results, is setting him -- and yourself -- up for sure failure.  What we do have, can be assured of, is that he is visionary and a genuine leader.  A true leader serves, includes, directs, listens, collaborates, responds versus reacts, did I say listens, knows when to say when, knows how to say I made a mistake, now how can we resolve it?  His greatest power is in his need not to abuse it, instead he uses it to serve, lift up, empower others who thought they lacked a voice or had a choice.  He does not fear the one thing that defines long term success, yet most don’t have the courage nor the sense of self to realize: that you surround yourself with those who are more experienced, smarter, more creative, more knowledge, more strategic acumen than you do, yet share your vision – even if their concept of how to achieve that vision may differ from his.  And that concept should differ when there is a better answer to the question, a better solution to the problem.   “Yes men or women” are not necessary on the team of a real leader.  You see, a true leader does not need an echo of his own voice, he needs a team that encourages him to make the right choice.(Besides, how boring would it be, if everyone I talked to sounded just like me?)

To that end, I have this to say to those insistent upon their attempts to micromanage every move that our new President takes, those who continue to believe that they are right, that there is no way that this President is the best choice for our country: If anyone has done the same comprehensive study and consideration that the team President Obama put together and comes up with a better idea, then put it on the table immediately; I am certain he will listen. If not, criticism from Congress, Right wingers,  media or any other armchair quarterbacks -- without any alternative solution -- is worthless noise. His decisions may not be perfect and please everyone, he may not move on matters as quickly as you or I would like, but we are in uncharted territory. We have two wars, a flat-lining national and global economy, fighting between other countries that will ultimately affect us, not to mention a myriad of social, environmental and human rights issues that require attention. Patience and restraint is required. I also suggest that each of us should contact those who represent us in Congress and let them know where we stand as individuals and that we expect them to voice our points of view through their votes. We do not have time to play political kid games or placate those who believe their personal position is more important than the state of our nation.  It is our individual responsibility to hold them accountable for what they do.  Because what they do – or don’t do – affects you, affects me.

While we are waiting for change to come at the government level, we too have to put some skin in the Change game.  It would be tragic to allow that one word – change -- to become a cliché as useless as a New Year’s resolution.  One person   -- you -- can change society one step, one person, one community at a time.  You can change the paradigms within your self, your family, your school, your community, your job, your city, your state, and collectively, your, no our, nation.  We must talk less, act more.  Stop waiting for your ship to come in; figure out how to build a boat, get in it and row.  It has become the cliché to say that our children are our future.  The reality is that they are the mirror reflecting us. Kids do – and believe -- what they see.  It is one thing to tell children what to do – quite another to show them.   If you have lost your self, you cannot expect them to follow your direction to the path down which they need to go.  I/You/me have plenty to work on while we wait for change to come from the external sources.

I/you/we have individual and collective responsibilities; if we aren’t a part of the solution, then we are indeed a part of the problem.  Small changes, big changes. Change that moves me/you/us forward, no matter what size it comes in, is growth. Collectively, all change has a big impact.  Hugging your children more, yelling at them less, teaching them the difference between breaking a rule and making a mistake – that is change.  Choosing to listen and learn who people are, rather than assuming their position in our society – that is change.  Picking up the trash on the street where you live, checking in on the elderly couple across the street – that is a change.  Become an advocate for creating neighborhood schools – that is change.    I thought about writing more, but I think that maybe less is more.  I am anxious and excited to see what change will ultimately look like four years, two years, one year, from today. Don't get it twisted. Dr. King  would agree: this is just the beginning, we are just getting started. Change is gonna come.  It’s up to us to determine how.