It became official on the 4th November 2008 (well – at least in California, anyway… it was the 5th November for the rest of us on Eastern Time). America had indeed been changed – in deliberate fashion. I sat glued to my television set all night with my father, mother and brother, switching between television stations and observing the looks of gleeful anticipation (or noticeable apprehension) of news reporters and journalists trying to interpret the electoral returns. But I digress here…
I was struck by a number of abstract events that seemed to resonate only among the ethnic group that had the highest personal stake in the outcome of events – the African Americans. It was on this night that the compassionate threads of mutual appreciation, followed by an appreciable affinity for “selfness”, and the shared sense of destiny seemed to bind together Blacks from all avenues of the political and social schools of thought. For many, an entire race was in the spotlight that night. I watched in wonderment as the most dogmatic Black conservatives and neo-liberal African Americans wept openly while bearing witness to this transforming event. Their human tears were there for all to see.
There were emotional parties among Blacks in other parts of the world as well. Vindication was the catch word for many in the Black Diaspora.
I will explore that angle some more…
