Defining Moments

When I was about 10 or 11, I said to myself, "Wow, my generation has NOTHING special about it to speak of. Nothing has happened. What will be remembered?"

Years later, we had Columbine, 9/11, and the Columbia explosion. I don't remember the moment that I heard about Columbine, but I clearly remember feeling that it was a generation-defining moment. More clearly, I can recall the moments where I heard about 9/11 and the Columbia explosion. On 9/11, I went to breakfast with some homies and then was hanging out at my boy's house watchin tv when our other friend came in and turned the TV to the news. We thought it was a movie, but it was NYC. I can't even say it hit me that hard personally, but I knew it was a generation-defining moment. The Columbia explosion is also a very clear memory for me. I was getting ready to go to bed on a Saturday morning after hanging out all night with a buddy and I heard the breaking news. I was so sleepy that I didn't believe it was real. But, after hearing it again, I had to sit on my bed and soberly take in what had just happened.

Whenever I tell this story regarding my 10 y/o assertion and the following calamities, people tend to say joking to me "Damn, what did you wish upon us?" But every joke has a hint of truth, and it honestly seemed as though my generation's time on Earth would be marked only by negative occurrences.

However, sitting here this morning, I have to smile about the latest generation-defining moment. When I heard Barack Obama's speech in 2004, I was shaken to my core by this man's words. I had heard of him before, but I had never heard him speak. However, that day, his message of inclusion and unity hit me like a ton of bricks. I had never been so inspired before. Immediately, friends began to say this man would be the first Black president and that he should definitely run for office in 2008. As an optimistic realist (emphasis on the realist), I raised an eyebrow and said, "Maybe in 2012, but 2008 is too soon." However, as I watched the faces of many non-Blacks in the audience who were also awe-struck by this man, I had to question my own feelings about this.

Time passed and 2008 was quickly approaching, and, as expected, this man who had shaken my spirit with his words in 2004 announced his run for the presidency of the United States. As a Black man who has experienced overt and covert racism, I have to admit that I was skeptical about whether the people of this nation were ready to embrace the notion of a Black head of state. As his candidacy moved forward, I was optimistic, but still fearful for this man. However, it increasingly seemed more possible that America might be ready to make a radical move forward. Indeed, as I mailed my absentee ballot, I believed that it was a drop in a bucket that would be unmoved. I grew up in Indiana, a VERY red state at the time, so I felt that I was just sending my blue ballot to sit somewhere with minimal effect.

But on November 4, as they began to report the poll results, things became so real. State after state turned blue on the CNN maps and then they announced that Barack Obama had won the presidency. I can't even say that it was necessarily real to me at that moment, but a pride and joy filled my heart. And when I heard that Indiana turned blue this election cycle, it became even clearer that people were ready for something new.