Mommy She Looks Like You

Having paid closer attention to Democratic and Republican primaries than ever before in my life, I had grown exceedingly tired of politics. I had even begun watching Sports Center in the morning instead of CNN just to get a break from it all. All of that changed on the night Michelle Obama spoke. My wife and I had put our three older children to bed, but our three year old was wide awake so we let him stay downstairs with us. We turned to NBC and caught the tail end of her bothers introduction. As Michelle began speaking my son, whom I was holding at the time, turned to my wife and said, “Mommy she looks like you.” Although I didn’t see a resemblance, through those words, I was pulled back into the process and began enjoying the most significant African American achievement of my life. Yes. I like Michelle am proud of my country for the first time in my adult life. I love my country, but I wasn’t proud until I realized that a significant number of white, yellow, red, brown, and black people had helped a black man and woman achieve the highest political office ever attained by a minority in this country. Yes I am aware that L. Douglas Wilder was the highest elected black official when he became lieutenant governor and the governor of Virginia, but as the first presidential nominee of a major party this moment is greater. It’s so great, even my son Elijah realized he was seeing someone speaking on television that had something in common with the most important person in his life. So while governor Palin knocks community organizers, I applaud them if only because my three year old son can see something familiar and positive in them.