Remember Obama

“We were moving forward”

I watched the tv and felt ill.

“What’s happening?” I asked God.

The next day came and it was true.

We had a bonafide, bottom-of-the-barrel, unqualified, admitted sexual predator, racist-to-the-core bastard as our president-elect.

I cried. Then I threw up.

For millions of Americans November 8th 2016 was, short of 9/11 and personal tragedies, their worst recent day in history.

My kids saw a side of Mama they’d never seen before. The side that screams at the TV and contemplates leaving America.

But it wasn’t just a national election day. It was Luna’s election day.

Luna ran for Class Secretary and WON.

I had to pull it together for her and find out the results.Where were the results? Why was it 4:30 November 9th and we still didn’t know?

A few kids ran up to her at dismissal and congratulated her.

Random Boy — Re-SPECT Luna!!!

He shook her hand.

Luna — Huh?

Random Boy — You won!

Luna — I did?

Now I had to get to the bottom of this.

I approached one of her teachers and asked why other kids knew but Luna didn’t

Teacher — Ms. Harper we had a serious situation yesterday at dismissal.

Me — Really?

Teacher — Yeah, Mexican and Muslim children were absolutely distraught. They didn’t want to leave the school. They asked if we could hide their families here.

My blood ran cold.

It was already beginning.

Teacher — Luna won! But right as we were about to announce it, we had all of that in the Main office.

I wanted to cry. I told Luna exactly what happened but explained that we can be sad for others and happy for ourselves at the same time.

I had her pose for a victory photo against the school. Right before I took the pic she looked at me wistfully

Me — Luna…I know…but here’s where you can make a difference. And you earned this.

She did earn it. And most of all she’s grown up with President Obama.

He had a profound effect on her, so much so that she had a little beige baby doll at 15 months she called Baby Obama.

She was so attached to him she started trying to nurse him as she’d seen other women do with their babies.

Luna — Mama, Obama’s biting me, OWWW!!!!

This was on the G train. I had to stop 2 dudes from filming her

Me — Luna pull your shirt down and stop nursing Baby Obama!

People would die laughing.

But we were so full of hope then. We had a president with class, melanin, a brain and a heart.

Not just a set of skills comprised of “How to Tap Into White Fear and to Get Over On People”.

We were moving forward.

As a Black parent I don’t mince words when it comes to racism. Just like I don’t mince words about misogyny, homophobia and respectability politics.

I break it down when and where I see it and from the moment Barack Obama won the democratic nomination, our family was ALL IN.

Our country moved so fast into a new world with new vocabulary and concepts I honestly didn’t stop to consider that white supremacy might be sent into white hot panic….and they were.

I didn’t realize that the “Evening of the Equity Scales” would make so many white people FLIP THE DUCK OUT.

Cause they certainly flipped out.

During the election Mike Pence very pointedly said he wanted American to stop talking about racism.

Who tells millions of people of color to stop talking about the very real, white supremacy we’ve been soaking in for 500 years?

Oh I know!….Someone who clearly benefits from it! I wanted to punch him in the mouth. What a place of entitlement you must come from to publicly advocate the “Have Nots” NOT talk about the system of the “Haves”.

Must be Nice.

Must be a White Supremacist.

Must be a White Supremacist that boiled the conversation surrounding racism down to “Identity Politics”…as if Black and brown people have a CHOICE.

Like….as if we can breathe or not breathe…and be OK with either situation.

Anyway my daughter picked up on ALL THAT. And she wants to make a difference. Luna knows this is NOT the way its supposed to be. And we even joked about it the summer before the election.

Luna — Mama…I don’t know if I’m ready for a white president

Very telling….Because THAT’S what 45 ran on…whiteness.

I died laughing because that’s all she’s known. She’s seen a world where we were moving on from the Nonsense Notion of Tolerance and sliding into Inclusion.

Tolerance is when you designate one people The Norm. And then paint a picture where The Norm puts up with the Ab Norm….POC.

But POC are not Ab Norm. We don’t need to be tolerated.

We WILL be included. Because we too sing America. We always have. We grew the fruit and we aim to eat it too.

It’s been a year and a half since the moist ridiculous embarrassment of a man became president. And he’s sunk us lower than we thought we could ever go.

But there’s a generation of kids that remember “Yes We Can”. They remember that we did and that we can do it again.

But most importantly, White Supremacy must ALWAYS be kept in check.

I think the youth are learning from experience that their fight for equality is not just about MLK and people having bones broken by fire hoses and skin torn by dogs.

It’s with ICE patrols and dumb tweets from a bumble f*** man who’s only skill is bringing out the worst in white people, playing on their fear of a Black planet.

They will Remember the moment they called out “Wakanda Forever”, our subconscious post-Trump battle cry, showing the world the Beautiful Blackness of our soul.

A place not even 45 and his every day F***ery can touch.

They will remember the man right before him, who personified Excellence, Change and Progression.

Like Luna, they will most certainly Remember Obama.

#TheSystem

#YesIAMThatMom