My third grade teacher, Mrs Moat (as she would say “That’s Moat, rhymes with poet.”), was small-ish woman, with short, graying reddish brown hair. She had rheumatoid arthritis that twisted her hands and wore knee-length skirts most days. I don’t remember a lot about my third grad class, but I have distinct memories about the social studies lessons on US government. We read about the three branches of government, the various duties of our elected officials and everyone had to write a “President Report” about one of the presidents (I picked John Kennedy). The thing that stands out most from the lessons on the office of the President is her lesson on the rules governing who can be a president. You have to be 35 or older, you have to have been born in America… and she said that there are unwritten rules. These are rules, she said, that aren’t written anywhere, but everyone knows them or behaves as if they were real rules. The unwritten rules: You have to be a man and you have to be white. She asked us if that was fair. She asked us if that made sense with what we knew about America.
The unwritten rules of the America Presidency: You have to be white and you have to be a woman.
In third grade, I had no idea how important a lesson that really was, or how political it was to even TALK about these things with third graders. In retrospect, Mrs. Moat was fucking cool. I can only hope that she’s still alive to see that at least one of those unwritten rules was broken on November 4, 2008.
My grandmother was a long time dedicated and active member of the Democratic Party in the Fort Something, Midwest area. She had an amazing collection of Democratic paraphernalia – including a shelf chock full of donkeys right above her desk in the den. She was very proud of her involvement in politics and promised me I could have some of the donkeys someday. When she died, people she knew through the Democratic Party came to her funeral. When my parents moved back to Fort Something and started getting active with the local group, people asked my father if Grandma was his mom. I think she’d be real proud of what the country accomplished. For the first time in over 200 years we elected a black man to be our President. We elected a black man to represent us to the world.
We elected a black man to represent us to ourselves.
No matter what anyone thinks of President-Elect Obama’s politics, there is simply no denying the magnitude of that fact. In the past 200+ years the only people who could see themselves in the White House were white. On January 20, 2009 minority families will be able see themselves in the First Family. Apart from having a pro-choice president, I think this is the most exciting aspect of this election; after all, a huge component of my research is the construction and expression of identity. This time next year, when the world sees the American President they will a man with black skin. Next year when America sees the holiday portrait of the First Family we will see a family with black skin. Now, I am not naïve enough to think that this means the Dream of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has been achieved. I know better than to think that America’s race problems are solved by the election of one man. I know better than to think we will suddenly live in some fantasy post-race world.
But I do think that the fact that America’s public face will be black will begin to shape the way we see ourselves. I think and I hope that the election of Barack Obama is not only an indication of how America has changed but how it will change. The public and ceremonial face of a nation can shape the way its citizens think of themselves and I hope that seeing our country represented by a black man will shape the way that white people think about themselves and about the country. I am fucking happy to know that when my future kids do their third grade President Reports they’ll see someone with black skin among the rows and rows of white guys. I’m fucking happy to think that by the time my kids are in third grade their teacher might not have to talk about the unwritten rules of the Presidency.
I can only imagine what it’s like to open an encyclopedia or a social studies book and see rows and rows of men with skin that doesn’t look like mine. It’s hard enough for me to see so many men. I can only imagine, based on how fucking ecstatic I am about Barack Obama, how it must feel for someone like Ann Nixon Cooper or Amanda Jones to know that come January 20, 2009, there will be a man with their skin color in the office. Henry Louis Gates Jr. has some eloquent remarks on the significance of the election. And for the love of all that is good and cry-worthy, check out this picture.
YES WE DID!
YES WE DID!
Posted by liviaaugusta 
