The Orion Online

Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Illustration by Oscar Chacon, Photo by Erik Aguilar [Click to enlarge]

Less than 150 years ago, African Americans were not permitted to read or write. Forty years ago, Jim Crow laws allowed for segregation, but soon, a black man will step up to run the country.

Sen. Barack Obama's platform promoted "hope" and "change," and for many minority students, his election into the White House is the breath of fresh air they've been gasping for.

"I didn't think I would see it in my lifetime, so I can imagine those who came a generation before me," said senior Mario Carey, intern at the Business Resource Center.

Carey watched history unfold before his eyes, he said. Times have changed for those who grew up in the '40s,'50s and '60s who have lived through seeing "No coloreds allowed" signs.

"Going from that to seeing one of their people, you know, becoming the president of the United States is tremendous," he said.

For minority students in the BRC, Obama represents an image they can relate to, Carey said. It's not just that Obama is African American, it's that people feel a connection to government because Obama represents the diversity they embody.

African-American history has been plagued with pain and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, he said. And for many minority students, Obama is the proof that anything is possible despite the racial lines that continue to limit options for them in America.

"As a black man, I'm already instilled with a lot of pride and strength," said Carey, who credits his mindset not just to Obama, but also to leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X who came before him.

Carey knows Obama's ethnicity has made history, but there has been more than just the issue of skin color brought to the table, he said.

"Black folks didn't get him in office," he said. "Even if all 12 percent of us would've voted for him he still wouldn't have won. So I think he represents a change in mindset (of) the majority and change in this country."

As an El Salvadorian student and first-time voter, freshman Johanna Matamoros said Obama gave her hope because she finally felt represented in America's history.

"It makes me feel good because he's a minority like we are," she said. "I think it makes us feel like it's going to open doors for us minorities. It's not just white people in the White House anymore."

It wasn't just a monumental step for Matamoros, but for her family who just received American citizenship, too, she said.

"I made an impact," she said. "I know that my vote counted in making history."

The bigger picture for Matamoros is that Obama connects to regular citizens she sees every day, not elite individuals who she thinks just make rules for her, she said.

"I feel like I know him, like that's my neighbor or something," she said.

For other students, such as Jammie Jelks, Associated Students director of legislative affairs, it wasn't Obama's skin color that mattered most, he said.

It was never a matter of what Obama, himself, could do, Jelks said. The inspiring part is that the nation rallied behind a man with great prestige and didn't discount him for his ethnicity.

"I think it's key that we don't think of Obama as the messiah here to save us," Jelks said. "He is here to lead our country through tough times."

As a minority in office and president of Men of Honor, an African-American male campus organization, Jelks doesn't think he compares with Obama, he said.

"Barack Obama has opened the door that we have been already working to open," he said. "We have been preparing to accomplish everything society has told us we couldn't - as for the presidency, Obama beat us to the punch, but there are a lot more things that we will seek and will accomplish."

Emotions were strong for junior Lynessa Williams, vice president of Women of Excellence, when election results were announced.

"I didn't start crying or being emotional until I realized we laid the foundation for the country," Williams said. "We built the White House, at one time we weren't good enough to walk through the front door and now we live there - that's the history."

It's more than the fact that Obama is a black man, Williams said. It is a victory for all minorities.

"He doesn't just represent one, he represents all of them," she said. "We are finally the multicultural country - finally living up to what we claim to be."

Sasha Knox can be reached at
sknox@theorion.com

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