Chance
of a lifetime
Commentary by Michelle
Fitzhugh-Craig
 The
time I woke up to find a spot in my ticketed area of
the inauguration: 4:30 a.m.
The distance I walked with thousands
of others — like sheep — through a crazy
maze that never seemed to end: Two miles to; five miles
from.
The chance to stand alongside hundreds of thousands
of Americans as we watched the first African American
to be sworn in as president of the United States: Priceless.
From the time I entered the National Mall in Washington,
D.C., to the writing of this column — almost
nine hours after the historical event — my eyes
continue to well up with tears as I reflect on the
last 12 hours and the months that preceded it.
When
I first introduced my column to Globe readers in August,
I was determined to bring you stories that showcase
the best the Bay Area has to offer. And I did, but
a man who few people knew four years ago took over
my thoughts. Like so many Americans, and people around
the world, Barack Hussein Obama became a beacon of
light in the dark, a symbol of hope for the future.
He offered more than any other man, or woman, in recent
history and asked us to believe.
And we did.
I first
took notice of Obama four years ago, following his
speech during the Democratic National Convention. I
began to follow his movements and thoughts and was
amazed at the number of supporters he gained along
the way.
I watched as he reignited a flame that had
long burned out in so many people who had little hope
in our future as a country.
I listened to the chants
of “Yes, We Can!” wherever the Hawaiian-born
former senator would travel.
I experienced firsthand
the way he touched those outside our borders who had
given up on the leader of the free world.
I felt the
barriers — physically and emotionally — that
this man of Kenyan descent was able to break through
after more than 200 years of persecution of blacks,
after decades of hatred toward people of color and
those of different sexual orientations.
And today … I
reflected back on a day that I truly knew this man
was placed on this earth for a reason greater than
most will ever realize.
On July 27, 2008, Obama visited
the Unity Journalists of Color convention in Chicago,
Ill. After he taped a CNN segment — where all
us journalists were asked to behave as unbiased spectators — he
shifted from his detail and walked toward the partition
that separated us from him.
Without hesitation, Obama
reached out both hands to the first two people in the
crowd. When his left hand shook mine, I knew all I
needed to know.
I knew that the words of “Yes,
We Can!” weren’t just a rally cry. I knew
that there was an infinite amount of hope for the poor,
the homeless, the persecuted and the angry. And without
a doubt, I knew this man would accomplish more than
any other man or woman in recent U.S. history … except
for one.
And one day after the nation celebrated the
80th birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and 45 years
after the greatest civil rights leader of recent times
promised we’d one day live in a nation where
his four children “will not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the content of their character,” we
have.
His name is PRESIDENT Barack Obama.
Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig
is an award-winning journalist who resides in Oakland.
If you have an individual, organization, issue
or other topic that may be of interest to the Globe’s
readers, contact her at talk2mfc@yahoo.com. Visit
her blog at www.stpminute.blogspot.com. |
