For a community advocate
and businessman, a redefining
of hurtful stereotypes. For
a single mother, a better opportunity
to educate her son
--and herself. For civil rightsera
survivors, a reminder of
how far we have come.
Indeed, the presidential candidacy of
Sen. Barack Obama symbolizes different
things to different people. For many Americans,
especially African-Americans, the possibility
of the first black president represents
a victory in the long-fought battle for
equality. Less than a half-century ago, racial
discrimination in education, housing, public
accommodations and voting rights was
the norm.
Now, 45 years after the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr. eloquently declared his dream,
Obama's nomination has irrevocably transformed
both American history and politics.
We asked six Marylanders to share what his
candidacy means, through the prism of
their personal experiences.
Vicky Johnson, Gwynn Oak
PERSONAL: 40-year-old married mother of
one
PROFESSIONAL: Event planner
Barack Obama is representative of more
than the first black Democratic presidential
nominee.
While that feat is monumental, the condition
of the lives being lived in America is
at such a place of crisis that his being black
is not enough. As I looked past that to see
what lies further, I did find hope.
I see in him an earnest belief that there is
an opportunity to bring about change --
real change, not just a reshuffling. And I see
his desire to implement decisive steps
toward creating a difference in the lives of
many Americans who believe that they
have already experienced all that the
American way of life will ever offer them.
Do I expect to see a metamorphosis overnight?
Not at all, but it has to start somewhere,
so why not here, why not now? For
every shortcoming Barack Obama possesses,
there is a converse truth that further
engages me in hope. He is not a long-standing
member of the old boys' club. He has
not had the ear of the same lobbyists for
years and years, gaining political favors. No
man is an island, and [if he wins] I trust that
the people he chooses to have around him
in the running of our government will be of
sound minds and led by a person of vision
and determination.
Obama is the only chance we have to
turn a corner and look for the horizon
again before we go down for that final time.
He's a life jacket.
Ruthadele Harrison, Baltimore
PERSONAL: 78-year-old widow
PROFESSIONAL: Retired special education teacher
When I was growing up in West Baltimore
in the '30s and '40s, our parents told
us it was possible to do anything. But as we
actually got out in the real world, we found
out that we couldn't do everything because
of the color of our skin.
I attended Frederick Douglass Senior
High School, which was segregated at that
time. One girl in my class wanted to be an
airline stewardess. But in those days, there
was none with black faces. Another boy wanted to be an astronaut, but people
would just laugh. It just wasn't possible.
There were people who graduated with me
in 1947 who wanted to open stores and
businesses, but where would they get the finances?
The majority of people were relegated
to housework.
I can remember going downtown to
Lexington Street and the big department
stores in the '50s. We could shop in certain
ones, but we couldn't try on the clothes. We
could not sit at the soda fountains at the
drugstores. Even at many of the hospitals,
you had to go in the back door, and the
wards were segregated.
So to live through all that and actually
think that a black man has been nominated
for the highest office in the land -- it
is just marvelous. I am Republican and my
grandfather knew Republicans like Theodore
McKeldin. I remember the polls being
in my grandmother's house and she was
paid $100.
But when I watched the Democratic National
Convention and Hillary Clinton
yelled out Barack Obama's name as the
nominee, tears just came down my eyes.
I hope young people appreciate all the
people who sacrificed, all the people who
went to the back door, all those who kept
quiet when they wanted to say something.
All the people who wanted to achieve, but
were laughed at and told their dreams were
not a possibility. It's possible now.
David C. Miller, Randallstown
PERSONAL: 40-year-old married father of three
PROFESSIONAL: Chief visionary officer of
the Urban Leadership Institute, a Baltimore
organization that designs programs for children
and families
To paraphrase Michelle Obama, the candidacy
of Barack Obama is the first time I've
ever felt like an American. I'd completely
given up on the democratic process in this
country. I became disenchanted because it
felt like voters were put in a situation to
choose the lesser of two evils. It seemed like
a shell game, a con.
Like many people, I was skeptical at first
about Obama's chances. I wasn't sure if he
could overcome the racism that still exists
in America, and the self-hatred in certain
segments of the black community. I also
wasn't sure if he could raise the amount of
money it takes to run a presidential campaign.
But he has run a very sophisticated
campaign, using technology and other apparatus
to galvanize people.
One very important thing Obama has
done is help to redefine the image of black
manhood and masculinity. Even on street
corners in the neighborhood, you're hearing
young brothers talk about Obama. People
around the country who don't see or
know much about African-Americans or
black men, now have a different lens. It
shatters the typical stereotype of things.
Obama shows that you can grow up
without your father, in disadvantaged circumstances
and still become somebody. He
shows that you can love and respect your
family; when he kisses his wife and children
it doesn't look contrived. That's a positive
message for the black community and everyone
because family has always been the
backbone of this country.
Keion Carpenter, Woodlawn
PERSONAL: 30-year-old father of three
PROFESSIONAL: Retired NFL player and
founder of the nonprofit foundation Carpenter
House, which helps single mothers
and others become homeowners
Football was my childhood dream, and
God destined that for me. I was blessed that
football allowed me to go to college, get a degree
and play for eight years in the NFL.
Now that I am retired, I am able to use that
platform and my nonprofit foundation to
help kids, single mothers and families, and
build a better community. I don't do it for
the recognition, but to see people have
some type of joy and security.
America is about opportunity, and with
Barack Obama comes opportunity. The
economy is impacting everybody. Gas prices
are high; so many things are out of reach for
normal people. Our nation needs to
change. It's not only about having an African-
American president. It's about having
someone who believes in people. I watched
the Democratic National Convention and
saw all the diversity, all types of people.
That's what America is about.
Obama's campaign has shown how far
we [African-Americans] have come. My
grandfather -- he's seen it all. He's prayed
for change, and our older people have
prayed for it. And I am excited about the
possibility of change.
As a young African-American man,
what's happened with Obama has been so
inspirational to me. It made me think,
'Wow!' We really can do anything. We can
strive and reach for things that are unthinkable.
You just have to stand tall and keep
fighting.
The Rev. Marcus Garvey Wood, Baltimore
PERSONAL: 88-year-old married father of
two children, grandfather of four and greatgrandfather
of one
PROFESSIONAL: Co-pastor of Providence
Baptist Church in West Baltimore
According to history, every so many
years, you have a person who comes forward
proclaiming to have the solution to
the problem. I'm remembering my friend
and classmate Martin Luther King Jr., who
came forward back in the '40s, early '50s
and '60s. Things have been quiet for a long while until here comes a new man: Barack
Obama. I'd never heard of him, but I've
been following him in the press to see what
he has to say.
He has lifted the consciousness of people
in America, in a special way. He's a young
man that America had not heard of, and
usually when a stranger speaks, we want to
find out what he has to say. To that degree,
he has done a lot to change the thinking of
people. Now, how that thinking will show
up at the polls, we don't know. And I would
say to young people, the important thing is
not so much who is running for president.
The important thing is you have to cast
your vote.
Still, I knew the day would come when
there'd be the possibility of a black president.
We talked about it in seminary, when
King and the rest of us would get together.
We studied the prophets and we said somehow
or other the day could come when
'Ethiopia shall stretch forth its hand.' So we
had thoughts along that line. But we didn't
know when or who or what.
If Barack Obama becomes president, it
does not mean that racism is gone. No. It'll
always be here. I don't see it ever leaving
until people decide within themselves how
they're going to react to other people of different
racial groups and so on. We haven't
overcome some things. We're still in poverty.
We have overcome discrimination in
terms of color, but that has changed to economics,
which is worse.
Dr. King had certain visions for America.
Of course, we laughed at him back then. Because
what he often talked about would
happen in America, we knew it wouldn't
happen. But that's the way it's been with society
all along. The reformers come, like the
prophets in the Bible come. They all have
their ... plan. But some reformers do not see
the future come to pass. And some the Lord
leaves around to tell the story.
Tiona Kuniken, Baltimore
PERSONAL: 23-year-old single mother of one
PROFESSIONAL: Student at Morgan State University and state employee
Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy fills me
with excitement. I'm in my 20s, witnessing
a black man making history. I often think
about how black people felt when their
votes began to count less than 50 years ago,
and now, we can vote for one of our own.
For the first time in history, a black man has
the support of different races and social
classes of people. I think they are all in
search of the same thing: change.
As I drive down the highway, I often see
'Obama for Change' stickers on all types of
cars -- from BMWs to the Ford Focus. When
I walk on my campus, Morgan State University,
I can count on seeing at least one student
wearing some type of Obama attire.
On my instant-messaging service, young
people shout out Barack Obama in their
'away messages.'
The change that Obama represents is significant
to me because I am a full-time student,
a full-time employee and a full-time
mom to my 2-year-old son, Teon.
Obama is promising to change many of
the things that I believe will affect my life
and my son's life in the future. For instance,
Obama believes that college students and
aspiring students should have the opportunity
to serve 100 hours of public service
each year, and in turn receive money
toward tuition. He also believes that the
government should restructure the public
school system.
I feel like Barack Obama is a pilot of the
plane of change, and everyone -- regardless
of race, gender, previous party association,
social class and education -- can get a
ticket. We need him as president. But no
matter the outcome of the race, I will savor
this moment forever.