On Guard America! The Battle Has Just Begun

Dry your eyes and rest quick, Brothers and Sisters. We have a long, hard battle ahead.

Barack Obama — a name that will go
down in history as the first Black President of the United States of
America. What a joy it is that we all became a part of this most
celebrated turning point in the history of the world. And celebrate we
did – from the mountains to the streets – from the valleys, even from
shore to shore – the presidential election of Barack Obama was
celebrated throughout the world. A sigh of relief and tears of joy
streamed down the faces of hundreds of thousands of forgotten Americans.

But
dry your eyes and rest quick, Brothers and Sisters.  We have a
long, hard battle ahead. We said, “We can,” and now we have. We have
elected a President who can shepherd us out of this economic crisis;
mend fences between countries; address global challenges we face ahead,
and there is so much more to be accomplished. But we cannot expect
Obama to do it alone, and together we must stand strong. We must not
waver; we must not relent. The entire world is watching and we must
prevail.

We have seen what eight years of a Bush administration
and 24 years of Republican domination can do to men, women and
families. Too many loves have been lost as a consequence of having been
forced to make Survival our concubine. Admittedly naive of the
underlying circumstances, I remember how disgusted I used to feel back
in the early 2000s as I watched my people become more and more
complacent at the feet of a pertinacious, government.

But today,
I celebrate the pride and redemption that I feel as I witness my people
ascending out of the ashes, greater and more brilliant than ever
before, because it is a different kind of fight today than was fought
back in the ’60s. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those brave
warriors who fought for the sweet liberties that we now enjoy. More
importantly, it is because of the sacrifices of those valiant men and
women, that we now, in our lifetime, celebrate a Black President of the
United States. Over time, we have evolved to a battle of the minds — a
much more formidable and effective weapon today than fists or guns
could be at this point.

Thousands upon thousands of Americans
have been stripped of their jobs for the sake of greed. But little did
the powers that be know, that with every job cut, their own pocketbooks
were shrinking as a result of the small businesses emerging out of
tenacity and passions.

Brothers and Sisters, this subprime
disaster did not just start. This economic tsunami did not just
suddenly appear one day. It is all the manifestation of years and years
of lackadaisical government that has reduced each economic class one by
one. Gentrification is flooding people out of their homes, creating
multitudes of homeless Americans that they now categorize as the
“working poor.” Do you think for one minute non-Blacks really want to
leave their swanky upper west side Manhattan cribs to move to Bed-Stuy?

Having
Barack Obama for our President promises great opportunities for us all.
Barack has promised Change we can believe in. But we cannot expect one
man to change an entire nation alone. Together we elected him and
together we must stand by him. It will take guts, determination,
perseverance, the strength, cooperation, understanding, flexibility,
commitment and the help of each and every one of us – all people, all
races, creeds and religions. We are all in this together.

The
Bush administration did not discriminate when hundreds of thousands of
jobs got cut. They did not discriminate when people were being tossed
out of their homes; ripped away from their beloved neighbors and loved
ones. They did not discriminate when they stripped away health care.
Each week, more and more “non-Blacks” join the serpentine lines at food
pantries, and the only color the Bush administration has any respect
for is the green that lines their pockets and they keep crying broke as
they tuck their children cozily into their goose down comforters in
their toasty mansions each night.

Yes America, we must stand
strong, for the battle has just begun, and the whole world is watching
as the first African American takes the helm in the most important
position a human can hold on earth. That of the President of the United
States of America.

Rest up quick, America, but don’t sleep, because the battle to take back our lives has just begun.

Brenda
Jeanne Wyche is Managing Editor of The Black Star News and Harlem
Business News. If you have a solution, email [email protected] .
Maybe we’ll talk.

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