I would like to start this article by saying I was wrong about Barack Obama.  I want to first exorcise my Obama doubting daemons.  I never thought he would win.  I never thought that a significant amount of white America would vote for a Black president.  I was certain the Republicans would steal the election by suppressing the Black vote.  I didn’t even think Obama would win the Spanish vote.  I was wrong.  I have also had numerous arguments with people dismissing the notion that Barack Hussein Obama would win the election.   I was wrong, and I want to apologize for it.

I now want to discuss what I feel is the most important impact of the Obama election: its impact on urban America.  I was not born in America. I have been here for 32 of the 38 years I have been alive, but I was not born here.  My father was a very high level diplomat in the country of my birth and our president was an unrepentant Black Nationalist.  So as a Black man in America I have never felt limited.  I have made choices that have impeded my success (this is still a racist country and an outspoken Black man has to watch his step) but I have not felt limited.

It is a good feeling to know that the election of Barack Obama will give that same feeling to Black children worldwide.  That is a very significant achievement in itself.  It is something I under estimated, the importance of and the importance of the Obama campaign physiologically for Black America.  The Nas song “I Know I Can” is now a reality for Black children in America.

[Kids]
I know I can (I know I can)
Be what I wanna be (be what I wanna be)
If I work hard at it (If I work hard at it)
I'll be where I wanna be (I'll be where I wanna be)

[Nas]
Be, B-Boys and girls, listen up
You can be anything in the world, in God we trust
An architect, doctor, maybe an actress
But nothing comes easy it takes much practice 

When I was teaching in the Bronx I was amazed at how many kids recited these lyrics.  President Obama has now made them a significant reality.  Urban America is in desperate need of new heroes and President Obama will be a welcome breath of intellectual fresh air.

We will see a lot of positive creativity coming out of urban America.  A new Black urban renaissance is coming. I was amazed Young Jeezy’s song “My President is Black.”  Dumb as it may be, it is catchy, has a positive celebratory vibe, and a step in the right direction.  It won’t help any kids read or improve anyone’s SAT score.  What it is, is a ghetto anthem, a tribute to President Obama and a warning to America what will happen if President Obama is touched. 

So I’m sittin’ here right now man, it’s June 3rd, 2008 am

N!@@a We congratulate you already homie

See I motivate the thugs right, you motivate us homie

That’s what it is, this is a hands off policy

Y'all touch him (Obama) and we riding

Obama has given hope and inspiration to those whose only other role models were actors, athletes and drug dealers. Young Jeezy is not an intellectual but his song is significant in that it places President Obama at the top of the ghetto cool list.  Intellect has finally found its proper place in urban America—the pole position—and for that I thank President Obama. 

However I am a pragmatic man when it comes to politics.  Furthermore, I don’t want to be a leader for all of America, I am a leader of Black America, so I hope and pray that Barack Hussein Obama does not become another David Norman Dinkins, the first and only Black mayor of New York City.  A “play it safe” Black politician, who tarnished his legacy by supporting the powers-that-be against his community.  Obama will face a lot of challenges—Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, AIG, GM and the rest of the economy, sustainable energy policy, the list is crazy.  But one challenge will be unlike others–hate crimes. 

There have been "hundreds" of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said  Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes. – Yahoo News. 

In the New York City borough Staten Island four white teenagers attacked a Liberian teenage immigrant Ali Kamara, just hours after Barack Obama won the election.  Just do a Google search, the information is out there, and how President Obama reacts to this and other hate crimes committed during his presidency will define his legacy.

No matter what, Black America will publicly support President Obama, and physically do their best to protect him.  President Obama has 32 million secret service agents.  Black people see and hear all things, wherever President Obama speaks every Black maid, janitor, doorman, man, woman and child will be focused on ensuring his safety.  It will be an interesting four years. 

It is obvious that Barack Obama is no David Dinkins.  President Obama is a rare intellectual talent.  He ran a flawless campaign and will be faced with some daunting challenges.  Afghanistan is a deadly trap.  The terrain is built to sustain a guerilla movement, and the CIA built the caves of Tora Bora.  The Afghan people are fiercely independent, having fought off the British Empire at the turn of the century and bankrupted the Soviet Empire.  My point is simple—the culture of the Afghan people will not allow them to compromise; it is a rugged terrain, and a death trap for nations.  Afghanistan is the trap he has committed himself to resolving.  No one has ever ruled Afghanistan.  G.W. was smart to attack Iraq, because Afghanistan is a historic death trap.  I believe he will resolve the economy, and implement a smart energy policy, but Iraq, Iran, Russia and Afghanistan will prove challenging.  Either way, President Obama has the talent to achieve all of his goals, and after giving him ZERO chance to win the election, I won’t make the same mistake and underestimate him again.