Seacoast History Blog #04
November 4, 2008

How fascinating to go from writing about the past to being scooped up in the transformational change of the election of Barack Obama, a name so new that even my spell checker is confused). After voting late in the evening, we retired to the TV like most of America – like most of the TV-watching world – too see the election returns roll in. (Continued) 

We All Made History Today

No end of ink will be spent dissecting this "historic" event. Historic means an event important to history. And it was clear from the tears of joy and the wild celebrations around the world that something of extraordinary importance has occurred. While detractors attempted to dismiss the election of the first African American president as "merely symbolic", the fact is, that symbols are incredibly important to human beings. We think and write and speak and pray and dream in symbols. Having spent 12 years now promoting the black history research of Valerie Cunningham online here, I have a tiny perspective on how enormous this event is. It will be, for many African Americans, the most important date historical date in their lives. Pundits around the world rushed to praise the USA electorate. What surprised me was how many people, of every race, said they did not believe America was capable of such an act. That goes to just how deep our sense of racial prejudice goes, even in this era of seeming equality. We are functioning as an society of equals, but the damage done by slavery is still too close. The great thing about Valeries efforts to build the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail here in Yankee, New Hampshire, is that it shows how deeply the prejudice was embedded here in the North. And I assume that we will see an enormous response among visitors who will now, because this symbolic barrier has been broken, will want to learn the story. Now that the "leader of the free world" is black and top color barrier is broken, we can begin telling the story of a black and white America in ways that was never before possible. All this has nothing to do with how Barack Obama will govern. But if he turns out to be a phenomenal president, while at the same time being the only non-white leader of a white-dominated democracy in the world, then walls will fall and change will come in ways we cannot imagine. And with that change, as we all know, will come the backlash. The last gasp of the great bigots of America will be horrible to behold. But for now, simply by standing alone and accepting the presidency, Barack Obama has launched us into an era that feels historic. When was the last time, I ask you, did the whole world weep for joy? Not in my 57 year memory.

© 2008 J. Dennis Robinson. All rights reserved.