OH HAPPY DAY! NOVEMBER 4, 2008 will go down in the history books! PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA’s long journey came to a REMARKABLE ending in his pursuit of the Presidency! Indeed HISTORIC! Soon, a Black family will move in the White House that SLAVES BUILT!!! Can you imagine what that means to Black folks; especially elders who have witnessed the struggle for Civil Rights, Respect, dignity and VOTING RIGHTS!

YES, tears streamed down JESSE JACKSON’S face captured in the crowd on TV in Chicago’s Grant Park! Touched to WITNESS a great moment in History for ALL PEOPLE! The country’s FIRST BLACK President-elect; the MAN who had the AUDACITY OF HOPE to say YES I CAN! YES WE CAN!

Jackson and others who struggled in hard fought battles for CIVIL RIGHTS were VINDICATED! Representative JOHN LEWIS (reelected once again to represent his district of Atlanta, GA) CRIED; it had been a long road. Always felt the pain in his voice, still scared as a young freedom fighter who marched with Martin Luther King and others in sit-ins, beaten, hospitalized.

I DID have a CHANGE of mind, booked a flight to Chicago, hotel, and had planned to join my COUSIN - CHICAGOANS MELL MONROE and his wife ANGIE, and associates ELECTION night, in their suite that overlooked Grant Park. CANCELED days before! Mell shared they PARTIED HARDY!

WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT, HIS FAMILY AND THIS COUNTRY, BUT that its the beginning of a NEW ERA! LAST week’s column expressed what Obama’s victory meant to me. THIS WEEK here are comments from a few PROUD BAY AREA BLACK AMERICANS on how OBAMA’S WIN has affected them!

CLARENCE BRYANT, retired Senior Electronic Engineer, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Lockheed Martin.
“As a 77-year old Black American, I am overjoyed that this country has apparently shown, and finally realized that ethnic background, skin color, or gender has little or nothing to do with leadership qualities (of course the previous two administrations should have proved that fact)...

“I am concerned that this ‘battle’ victory may lead some to believe that the WAR IS OVER! Lest we be fooled, RACISM, SEXISM, and other forms of prejudice are STILL alive and well! President Obama’s road will be hard and trying. We must NOT lessen our support, and BY ALL MEANS, our young people should look upon this as an example of how you can succeed with preparation and hard work. With continued support of our chosen leaders, with hard work and diligence, we WILL succeed as a people and a nation!”

EUGENE AND LYNNETTE WHITE are dedicated to the cause of BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS! Eugene, nationally known VISUAL ARTIST/AUTHOR, shared “Obama’s victory is much more than just an ORDINARY congratulations to me. My highest compliment will be addressed at a later time for sharing my congratulations through my art, in my time, which symbolizes the experiences of Black people in these times.”

LYNNETTE, Professional CAREGIVER/AUTHOR, who has her PULSE on what is going on clear cross the country through her VAST E-mail network, expressed “I feel ABSOLUTELY ELATED! This is indeed a sign that one person can and does make that much difference in the world! I have to say that I respect and admire the way that President-elect OBAMA maintained a stance of dignity, respect, vision and value for those that did not see what was in his heart during the time of the debates and speaking engagements;...

“I do not feel that until each person dealt with the words from their own hearts when they entered that voting booth, did they realize the CHANGE that Obama was speaking and engaging the world in. All of the emotions, skepticism and negativism worked together for the good of the entire nation; YES WE DID!!! “

DR. CAESAR. CHURCHILL, DDS, a man of Black consciousness and community activist:

“GOD Blessed me and my family along with millions to see this day when an African American male become president of these United States of America. It means that my children, grandchildren and generations to come can BELIEVE in themselves; that they can be anything they want to be, with the right frame of mind, by setting their priorities with dedication, desire and determination! We have overcome many obstacles, cleared many hurdles to get to this day making it the most memorable part of history in my lifetime!”

My LONGTIME FRIEND DOROTHY HILL, who experienced RACIAL OPPRESSION when married to a BLACK MAN, which from that union a BIRACIAL SON. She was elated over Obama’s win, and in the mix at VELMA’s Nightclub for the celebration Tuesday night.

“I can’t begin to describe the emotion I feel when I envision a Black family in the White House. When I married a Black man in San Francisco in the early 1960’s, we were constantly subjected to sneers and comments on the street, three times EVICTED in “Liberal” BERKELEY, missed employment opportunties ... how little WHITES understand the struggle for human dignity of Black people was the most astounding revelation to me. What White say and what they do are usually different when it comes to Black issues and I must say that I am still stunned and elated about the election of the MOST EXCITING PRESIDENT EVER!”

ELECTION NIGHT MISSED MY SON’S call from Lubbock, Texas, “Hey MOM, HE DID IT! GREAT DAY FOR THE COUNTRY!” This MOTHER celebrated ON DA ‘MO, felt the flavor of all who gathered on the street. Around 5-ish stopped in the West Bay Conference Center bustling with young WHITE volunteers on the ground floor temporary Obama Satellite office, manning phone banks to get out the LAST votes!

THE MAIN OBAMA campaign office on Market Street SENT leaders to TAKE OVER the Satellite office, ORIGINALLY JUMP STARTED by REV. AMOS BROWN who over his concerns for an office in the HEART of the Fillmore, BUT NEVER seemed to “FIRE UP AND READY TO GO!!!” as he passionately stated at a meeting the week before!

A Westbay committee staff prepared for the celebration PARTY held on the upper floor of the Center, left before the action started. MOVED TO 1300 where several large TVs were setup, and ON THE SCENE when OBAMA was declared THE WINNER. The diverse mixed crowd yelled and cheered - GREAT TOGETHERNESS!

Conversations with Commissioner FRANCEE COVINGTON, President, SF Redevelopment Board ...Pretty BARBARA RODGERS, Retired KPIX TV-5 News Anchor who recalled covering the FIRST George Bush iNAUGURAL (she’s already made airline reservations to be in Washington, D.C. for Obama’s celebration in hopes of attending the party! Shared I was INVITED to both RONALD REAGAN AND BILL CLINTON’S Inaugural, BUT did not attend. SURE would love to be on the scene January 20th!!!

KENNETH MONTEIRO, Dean San Francisco State University Ethnic Studies program, and significant partner PERRY LANG, Executive Director AIDS Coalition. Both proud of the day AND hoped the NO ON PROP. 8 would pass - UNFORTUNATELY FOR MANY IT DID NOT PASS!; Attorney CRAIG MARTIN; TONY TAYLOR KING - his mom LEOLA KING, THE LEGENDARY QUEEN of DA ‘MO was missed, she preferred to stay home.

JULIUS BANKS, retired from UPS, was bursting with pride. We walked up to RASSELAS, enroute, encountered TV cameras....street filled with gleeful people; cars honking BUT the celebration was void of violence! RASSELAS was ROCKIN’ wall to wall, overflowed to the street, ALVON WAILIN’ on guitar, giving up THE BLUES FOR OBAMA!

HEY, IT’S NICE TO BE NICE AND TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE ... LOOK FOR ME ... I’LL BE THERE ...
E-mail Rochelle at iheard@earthlink.net