The Obama Election was supposed to usher a new era for African-Americans. An example in Pennsylvania shows that perhaps it hasn’t. And it’s not Obama’s fault.
We kept hearing the slogan “Yes, We Can” throughout the election campaign last year. It’s hard to believe that at this time in 2008, we were staring at the possibility of having the first African-American nominee of a major political party. 12 months later, we have President Obama in office, and it seems like he has been there a lot longer.
This change was supposed to be the powder keg to spark a new pride within Black America. This pride could have carried us to new places as a culture and as a country.
Higher levels of Black student achievement.
Higher levels of Black parental involvement.
And lower levels of Black-initiated crime, particularly Black-on-Black crime.
Many of the things that the 40-Day Fast for Our Future looked to address earlier this year.
However, if the latest in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania is any indication, all we have done is elected a Black president, not selected a new Black frame of mind.
Five-year-old Mena Small, who is battling skin cancer, was on a paid trip to Disney World through the generosity of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Her mother and she returned home to a ransacked house.
In the small community of Penn Hills, word gets around fast. As a native, I can tell you that it always has.
People knew that Mena and her mother were leaving for Florida. The perpetrators in this case waited them out and took advantage of a vulnerable family at a great time of need.
Now, I am curious as to how we will react.
Will someone step up and speak out against this atrocity (and rectify it) or will we take the “you know how we do” attitude and be silent?
All politics aside, the Obama election was supposed to inspire a new pride within the country, particularly Black America. A new day full of new possibilities was on the horizon, a promise full of uplifting ourselves and loving ourselves more than we had.
We haven’t seen it yet, folks. Not with the continued violence in the streets. Not with the continued drop-out rates among Black children. And not with this latest example of foolishness and selfishness.
Black America is running out of excuses. And just as we are running out of excuses, we are running out of time.
Is this the incident that makes us collectively say, “Enough is enough”? Is it the next 5-year-old caught in the crossfire of bullets in a gang war? Is it the next 14-year-old we see struggling in school or in life due to a pregnancy or poverty, much of which we can prevent ourselves without the help of any sort of government?
