I am sure we have all seen and or heard all the ridiculous amount of rhetoric floating around about The Obamas and what they represent.

HOLD ON!! WHO ARE YOU CALLING NEW?  I only know of healthy black families. I have lived my thirty something years and have only been acquainted with and have seen/known of/associated with hundreds, if not, thousands of nuclear, healthy, hard working black and brown families. These families more times than not come complete with a mother and father who both work hard to raise their children properly and to be earnest contributing members of society. Most of my family and friends are not dealing with substance abuse problems, abusing the social welfare system, are not in and out of jail or struggling with joblessness and being uneducated. To the contrary, most are educated, have extreme high level of morals and ideals; and expectations for themselves and their children. They are like most Americans of the lighter skinned-hue. What is all this fuss about?

I feel like I am being painted like a rare vintage species in the media sometimes. No really, I am perplexed that in 2009, the middle class black family with no outward signs of pathology or dysfunction is still considered an anomoly.

I shouldn’t act so indignant. The imagery of black people in television and movies is still quite distorted and what can one really expect of the middle American who lives in a town with no diversity? Notwithstanding, the idea and concept of a healthy black family being abnormal is still quite disturbing.

Not too too long ago, during my college years, I became used to having to educate my classmates about what life was like having the absence of skin privilege. It was a task many black and brown people undertook for the sake of contributing to the educational experience. That is one of the stalwart positions behind diversity in the Higher Education system after all, isn’t it? –that students of varying backgrounds and of different cultures and identities would be able to interact and learn about one another, and realize, sooner hopefully than later, that they (we) are the same after all.

I do know at some point during law school, I decided that it was an unfair burden for me to have to educate Whites about Blacks and life as a Black person in America and that I no longer wanted to play that game. I was there to learn and get an education and I didn’t like being straddled with the burden of representing my entire race. When there was the topic of civil rights, constitutional wrongs, criminal procedure, I had to defend and educate the experience of Blacks and bear the weight of the pressure of making sure my classmates got it right and understood “where I was coming from”…And here we are having it resurface but on such a larger stage with so many more people watching!

I recall very recently being a part of an ongoing an internet discussion among a group of women with whom I attended journalism school. It was back during the heat of the election cycle. We were joking about how when, and if, the Obamas were to become the first family we could expect endless stories about “Blackness” and what it means to be Black. We already saw it with the famous “pound heard around the world.”

And later, there was that CNN series about Being “Black in America” that was heavily criticized for AGAIN, and as always, mainly highlighting the negative aspects of being Black in America and failing to focus on the positive.

But these sisters were saying how they looked to the day when articles would read like this:
“The Relaxer: What is it and why do Black women need to use chemicals to take the kink out of their hair?”
or
“The Pound Heard around the world: Is this a new communication tool? ABC news discuss the disappearance of the hand shake.”
or
“The Harlem Shuffle v The Electric Slide: New Group Line dances replace the Oosh Tush”

My husband joked openly about how he just knew that in short order every Obama gesture or term would be made into a big ordeal. For example, he pointed out how while watching the televised version of the swearing in ceremony, he saw Barack going down the line shaking hands of dignitaries and other political figures until he got to “the Brother.” What he did when he saw the African American in line was do the usual thing brothers do: Shake, fold in palms, lean in shoulder cross shoulder and give the ceremonial pound on the back!! Obama did the “Brother hand shake!” Oh lawd!

Certainly, true to the hubby’s prediction, the day after Obama visited the DC landmark vintage chilli joint, Ben’s Chilli Bowl, there was the talking heads did indeed “go there”. Obama can be overheard in thethe videotaped saying something to the effect of “we’re straight” when telling the cashier that he wouldn’t need the change. The radio call in shows were all a buzz about what that meant! “We’re straight.” “Is that a new term?” Come on now!!

Now Black vernacular would be on the spotlight. It’s no longer young non-blacks copying hip hop culture and clothing and marrying it into general pop culture. With Obama as our president, Black is back in! And I’m not talking about the little black dress.

There have already been a good dozen or so jokes about that with a young black fellah beating the record for the youngest coach to take a NFL team to the Superbowl, the first Black Attorney General and etc etc.

And then, my husband also pointed out this very interesting Washington Post article about how the social and political groups that usually are lily white were scrambling to find Black faces to invite so their functions refelected some aspect of diversity given the background of the president. The article reads, in part,

With a black first family in the White House and a diverse group of appointees and Cabinet nominees, the all-white dinner party feels all wrong. Certain hosts are suddenly grappling with a new reality: They need some black friends. Overnight, black politicians, lawyers and journalists are hot properties, receiving engraved invitations from people they never got invitations from before.

And boy are we (colored) folks trying to exploit that, but rightly so after being left out and below the radar for so long. It’s high time that our talents and capabilities and assets are given a second look.

If anything, I am excited about this new era, and rise or fall, through good times and bad, it’s been a long time coming. I am excited for the new America.Certainly, another good angle is that people are using this win to signal an end of complaining and blaming “the Man” for your troubles. I mean when the chief “man” looks like your daddy, how can you seriously not try and do better? There is some discussion among the Hip Hop community that some rappers are gonna quit using the N-word now that they have a Black President.Now wouldn’t that be something?

Tags: African, African American, Barack Obama, Black people, Ethnicity, Family, healthy family, middle class, obama, Political Correctness, Politics, race, race and ethnicity, Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, United States, Washington Post, Working Mothers