dear diary,
this morning when i woke up, things seemed different.
the sun was still the sun, the clouds were still the clouds, and the wind was still the wind.
my nose was still my nose, my eyes were still my eyes, and this black skin was still this black skin.
the same people who speak to me, spoke to me. the same people who never do, didn't. the same way i couldn't care less either way, remained the same.
falsely convicted felons were still in prison. men and women were still dying in wars. and the economy was no better than the day before.
but today i smiled, because today, it FELT different.
it felt like we were finally at the point where today, becomes TOMORROW.
tomorrow is the point at which the old day ends, and a new day begins. our entire lives, we've just been living a series of the same day over and over. sure, the sun would rise. but it brought with it no new meaning. no new hope, or new ideologies. no new movements, leaders, or voices for change.
but TODAY...
today FEELS like america has pushed its confederate flags into a dark corner and cast its racist brethren to the side.
it FEELS like a white man can be a white man without having to carry the stigma of being an oppressor.
and black and brown men can be black and brown without feeling they will forever be oppressed.
it definitely doesn't FEEL like i'm less black. however, somehow i do FEEL more american.
my city FEELS more livable. like one people, in one community, in one nation.
and truthfully, it FEELS good. dammit, it feels real good. overwhelming even.
i know today, our problems are still our problems. but under the lens of hope, they truly seem smaller. because for the first time in most of our lives, the notion of impossible has been defeated. and the embodiment of that spirit is a just a regular living-breathing-walking man. a black man. president of these united states.
he is no longer a dream, which means our dreams are no longer fiction, which makes our realities feel way more dream-like.
yesterday is yesterday. today is just a day. which means tomorrow, we will finally know what it means to see tomorrow.
3 comments:
One of my earliest memories as a young, Jewish boy growing up in the 1950's was when my dad took me downtown to the Henry Grady Hotel. I asked my dad why the water fountain was marked "colored", because to me the water still looked clear. Thid day is for those who were forced to drink from that fountain.
Your words are beautiful, and they describe exactly how I felt the day after the election, when I was finally convinced that it really happened. I am not black, (I am white) but I share your feeling that things really do FEEL different and its a wonderful feeling. Hope is a wonderful thing and I look forward to tomorrow, patiently awaiting the change and the unity that is long over due.
I didn't know this blog was still active.
Barack is GWBush's cousin. Oops.
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