Obama

By HW

Positively speaking, you put a face on the black American life.
Instilling courage inside every black man and every black woman, worldwide.
A battered culture, we had been oppressed without a voice for so long.
We were taught not to believe in ourselves.
“OBAMA”
You took a chance at your dreams, when a black president was so far-fetched.
When the threats poured in, and the racial tension was too thick to hide.
You stood tall, with complete confidence in yourself and in our race
and most important, our nation.
I’m proud to call you my brother of color,
and I was, and still am proud to call you our first black American president.
Your actions have showed the youth what a strong black man is and what we all can strive to be.
Lodged in the heart of D.C. you freed the voiceless
and you gave hope to the poverty stricken people without health care.
You visited the land of the colored humans
and gave the great help and hope that our people need.
You sat and spent time with the elderly people of color, who laid the foundation before you.
When young black lives were being haunted and destroyed by crooked police,
you stood in front of the world and said black lives matter.
When young black boys continued to be shot down,
you held the people responsible for it and continued to seek justice.
You visited the victims of family and gave them a renewed strength.
I can’t name everything you have done.
For our country, or the black community.
But I can say that you touched or changed so many lives
and we truly appreciate your movement and fearlessness.

3 Comments

  1. Sally on February 16, 2018 at 9:10 AM

    HW,
    Thank you for sharing your poetry. I volunteered for the Obama campaign back in 2008 and it is one of the things I am most proud of. Even though I am not African-American, I really wanted to see a black man in the oval office because of (as you put it so eloquently) the “battered culture” of “[oppression]” that is so prevalent in African American history. Even though I am an Obama supporter, it’s very cool for me to read about how his Presidency affected you and continues to affect you as an African American so thank you again for sharing!

    • Sally on February 16, 2018 at 9:11 AM

      And yes, BLACK LIVES MATTER!!!

  2. N. B. on October 25, 2020 at 12:43 PM

    To read this now, after Obama, after so much has changed…. it makes this poem even more powerful. I am not African American, so hearing how Obama changed the game from the perspective of a Black person is especially insightful and important. My favorite line was “You took a chance at your dreams, when a black president was so far-fetched,” because it reminded me that there’s always a first for everything. Obama was the first black president of the United States, and many more firsts will come, firsts of, I hope, different races, ethnicities, and genders. Your poem stands on a strategic middle ground, since it pays such honorable tribute to the past but also reminds us to look hopefully towards the future. Thank you for sharing!

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