From Asha's Momma

Michelle is a beautiful, talented, and intelligent member of the leadership team at Public Allies - yes, the same one that Michelle Obama has spoken of - a wonderful non-profit organization focused on developing leadership skills in our country's youth - headquartered in Milwaukee. Below she shares her story in part through the eyes of her daughter.


Taking the Dream from her Pocket!

I have a daughter, Asha, who will be two years old in two weeks. She is the coolest person I know, and I keep her as the apple of my eye. When I was that size, I was raised to believe that I had to do twice as well as the white children around me to be considered half as good. Even then, I knew that my hair must be combed, my face washed, I should always use my manners... I'm sure that the women in the family did it to keep me safe. They'd borne witness to lynching, segregation and discrimination for all of their lives. They also discouraged me from living too loud or wanting too much, to keep me from being ostracized or disappointed. And so, I put my dreams in my pocket, knowing that someone else, someone who those kinds of ridiculous dreams were meant for, would come to gather them when the time was right. Me, I would stand nearby to congratulate and support their efforts.

I voted early, as I was going to be at a conference on Election Day itself, but I asked my mother to bring Asha along to the polling place. She went, and stood in line with my mom, and I'm told that whenever someone greeted her, she answered, "I'm going to vote for Obama". They all thought it was darling, but there was something more important afoot. She'd watched plenty of news coverage preceding the election, and the Democratic convention with her parents. When people chanted Barack Obama’s name, she did too. When she saw the famous "O" posted somewhere on the street, she would point it out to anyone who’d listen. Barack Obama became as popular as Elmo in our house over the course of the campaign. And why not? They both are friendly, and people love them. Plus, Obama and his wife have two little brown girls living with them - just like my Asha's Mommy and Daddy. Their family makes sense to her, and when she heard about the election, she didn't want to miss the opportunity to support her friend.

That night, she woke up at 10:30 unprompted. I kept her awake, instead of tucking her back in, the way I would on an ordinary night. I carried her back into my bedroom to watch the newly elected first family walk onstage. She said, "What happened, Mommy?" I whispered, "Obama won...." and with that, all hell broke loose. "YAY! Obama won! Hooray for Obama!" she sang, in the same tone we use to congratulate her for using the potty, or putting on her own shoes. And then, my husband and I started to cry. Our baby's happiness at the win of "President Elmo" was overwhelming. We wept because Asha could see little girls that looked like her on the national stage. She can honestly be told that she can succeed on her own terms, without the comparisons to the majority that I suffered from. We were in awe of the idea that she will grow up seeing herself reflected in American society the way she really is, not as the nightly news reports.

I cry just trying to write this down. I cry tears of joy that this day will be so profound in the lives of my children, and that the content of their character finally has permission to shine through. I also cry with sadness for the horror our people have had to survive to get to this place in history. I also know that I have so much work to do. I intend to fish that little dream of my own out of my pocket, and make the most of it!