Where were YOU the day that Barack Obama won the presidential election? I was sitting at a table at The Grape with my 2 best friends, Slumdawg and Salim,and Salim’s girlfriend. I remember not really givng a damn about the implications of Barack becoming the first black president.

What filled my heart and soul with emotion was the sight of Michelle and Barack…Michelle kissing him and the way that they clasped hands in a high-five that segued into a gentle caress as they left the stage. It was just as powerful of an image to me as the infamous Obama ‘fist pound’……

I turned to my other two musketeers with tears in my eyes and said, “Do you know how powerful this can be for the restoration of the black family?” We talked about how black men would begin to remember the value in their women and how black women would believe in their men again.

As we left, I smiled as I watched Salim and his girl leave the restaurant hand in hand. And I was inspired…

As the days and months went on, I heard men talking about finding their “Michelle” and
women rediscovering the potential in their “Baracks”.

But now fast-forward to May and I dunno. Something in my spirit is disturbed. It’s like all of that momentum is dying down. I’m starting to see the women falling back into the same patterns of bitterness and cynicism. I see men once again throwing their balls in the air and falling back into the cut waiting to see how many women are willing to catch them.

What we were captivated by in the interviews as we watched the interaction between Barack and Michelle – his genuine attentiveness to the words that she spoke and her steadfast faith in his dream for himself, his country and his family – has now been replaced with ‘presidential swagger’ and how fly the First Lady’s hair and make-up are.

In the process, we have a new wave of break-ups, divorces and single parenthood breaking the surface in this post-Obama world. What I was so optimistic about – restoration of the belief in the family as a unit is falling back into the same pattern of every man/woman for themselves.

I’m hoping that my generation is able to rise to the challenge that was issued to us on November 4th. To me, it’s so much deeper than just the presidency. It’s our opportunity to break our generational curses. It’s our chance to show our children the value in our collective energy. It’s our time to be the change that our ancestors prayed for. Let’s not let them down.