Perhaps the most remarkable reaction resulting from Barack Obama’s election to the American presidency is the sense of relief felt by African Americans.  It would under represent the significance of this reality to attribute this emotion to mere elation at the election of a black man.  Amongst those interviewed and seen there was a sense of real relief.  It was not the type of relief one gets from antacid or aspirin, but “soul relief”.

“Soul relief” occurs when doubts, fears and cynicisms that rest in the deepest element of the individual, the soul; suddenly vaporize.  For black folk, this type of soul unrest is something that permeates existence; often one step behind or in front, but always near enough to cast a shadow or be felt.  For too long, black people in America have held the belief and experienced the reality that there were pathways of the American Dream marked with signs saying, “No Blacks Allowed”.  This belief whether based on the expressed action of racism or a general perception that America was not quite ready to live up to her mantra that “all men are created equal”; was reality for many black Americans.

The causes of this feeling of exclusion are numerous, including the obvious truth of the historical American practice that socially, economically and legally excluded black people.  The discounting or minimizing of this exclusion is not my goal; it is simply more obvious and therefore the body of discussion is great.  However, let me mention two significant, perhaps less obvious reasons among us for my observation of why we needed “soul relief”.
 
First, black Americans, though enjoying ever increasing opportunity in America, still tend to hand down the pain of racism from one generation to the next, especially over the past 40 years.  I firmly believe that the abrupt end to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a far-reaching effect on subsequent generations.  I offer as evidence the unrelenting belief Dr. King had in the promise of America.  With his death, much of that promise died also in the hearts of black folk.  Black people from King’s generation immediately lost faith in America, a faith building since the Emancipation Proclamation and Reconstruction, a faith that endured through Jim Crow and segregation, and a faith determined to materialize the hope of freedom into the reality of liberty.  This led a people once filled with hope to become cynical and distrusting of their government and country.  Many believed, if they could kill John F. Kennedy and Martin, nobody is safe; which to some degree proved true during the turbulence of the sixties.  It is reasonable to assume that had he lived, King would continue to call black folks to the promise of what America could be.
 
Born during those years, I remember vaguely the hurt in my family surrounding the death of Dr. King.  For a wide-eyed, inquisitive six year old, witnessing such pain from my parents and grandparents let me know something horrible happened to a good man, and possibly could happen to me simply because of my skin color.  This is a traumatic thought for someone barely beginning the formation of their views of people and the world.  Until then, I did not know my black skin could be a danger to my well-being.  I honor my parents for never letting me slip into the abyss of shame concerning my ethnicity.  They chose not to hand me their pain, fear or newly found cynicism; they kept that well hidden, for after hearing their conversation as an adult, I suspect their pain and fear were present daily.  I further suspect that their choice not to hand their pain to me had to do with their intimate relationship with and belief in the power of God to overcome all obstacles.

Yet several in my generation lived constantly in a state of “soul unrest”.  We reminded ourselves daily that we could still not trust America, as well as some of our own institutions, like the church.  There began a perception that certain institutions like church, formal education and government contained rules designed to aid our oppression, rather than assist our collective uplift.
Even our new political power in the urban centers of America still did not provide a sense that we can finally exhale.  For many, handed the pain, fear and cynical distrust of America from their own ancestry, this begot the belief that somehow they were pilgrims “traveling through a barren land”, which held little promise of oasis.  This is why so many exhaled at the election of Senator Obama.  For many blacks, it was like the desert had unexpectedly ended, and now the oasis of hope had become a real place, not merely a mirage.  Even those who by any standard, have succeeded and even exceeded prosperity in America experienced “soul relief”.  As evidence, tears streaming down the face of Oprah Winfrey, a billionaire and perhaps the richest woman in America, exhaled in a way she may never have before November 4, 2008.  For someone like Oprah, whose grasping opportunity and hard work led to such immeasurable success, to finally “believe in America” tells me that the roots of “soul unrest” run deep in the black community.  However, I must ask, is there any other country in the world that would afford Ms. Winfrey her current success?  Hence, the dichotomy of black soul unrest and current black success also exists.

The second reason for the “soul relief” of black America was the perpetuation of our victim status by the subversion of the Civil Right Movement.  I will not venture into all the details, but when we forsook the struggle to recognize our humanity (as the picture to the left portrays)for the struggle to validate our blackness; this laid the groundwork for a sustained class of victims, reminded constantly by leaders with personal agenda, that success in America eluded them solely because of their pigmentation.  The assumption of victim status clearly influenced many who shouted for joy and danced in the streets upon Senator Obama’s election to the Presidency.  In fact, many interviewed stated their belief that only now, could they be whatever they wanted to be.  Why not before, and why now are the obvious questions.

The answers lie in the reality that many young blacks, in generation X and Y, along with the emerging generation; feel victimized by our government in general and whites in particular.  As evidence, Nightline reported from historically black Howard University, that students, many too young to have experienced many overt signs of racism, were extremely cynical and distrusting of this country’s ability to provide a fair election to Senator Obama.  Many felt the hijacking and/or stealing of the election was a real possibility, in order to prevent a black man from entering the White House.  They seem to base this solely on the 2000 Presidential election, even though the other candidate, Al Gore, was white.  I suspect their belief had less to do with Gore/Bush 2000, and more to do with the inherited belief that America would never allow a black man to live as President in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Therefore, I now must ask if the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States will finally bring confirmation of the American Dream for black people.  It is my hope that it does. However, there is one sure particular; no longer may our group failure rest on the excuse of racism.  We cannot hide our lack of responsibility, social disorder, self-destructive behavior and violence in our communities behind the expansive cloak of “white folks keeping us down”.  To some degree, the election of Senator Obama as President allows the America heretofore distrusted by black people, to make final or at least a significant payment on the “I am not racist” account.

For the record, and because of a faith in God taught to me by my parents, I have always believed in the American experiment and that this day would come.  I suppose this is why I did not “exhale” on the same level as some; I truly expected this moment.  I fully expect that the conservative movement will one day offer a person of color as their candidate for President of the United States, as almost happened with Colin Powell in 1996.  My only regret concerning the personal historical relevance of Senator Obama’s election is that America did not choose a person with whom I am more ideologically, philosophically and perhaps even spiritually compatible.  While it was not necessary to confirm the American Dream within me, I am glad to welcome those who feel they are in a new country, to an America that has always existed in concept, if not in practice.