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CRITICAL NOIR
Letter to My Daughters: Your President is Black
by Mark Anthony Neal
Dear Daughters,
Your president is Black.
I never thought that I'd ever say those words to you; in fact I can't say that I even imagined what it would be like to say those words to you. For so many of us, a Black president was just some far off wish, but no more far off than those once and always proud New World Africans who dreamed of freedom by "climbing into their heads" as the late Sekou Sundiata once described it. Perhaps that is why so many little black boys and girls have been told over the years, that they too might grow up to become President. And guess what babies--one of us did.
When I was your age, the world was in transition, but filled with the promise of a "new day" ("can you feel it, it's a brand new day" as they sang in the Emerald Cities of Chocolate Lands all across the nation). Two of our great soothsayers (so many of whom we so wish were earthbound to experience this day) captured the expectations of that era with a song called "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black" (and I know, you've heard it many times. When I was your age though, the song was one of the great gifts given to those of us who were expected to most benefit from the struggles of that moment. Years before on-line social networks existed, it was the music that was our social network, and Ms. Simone and Mr. Irvine's "Young Gifted and Black" went viral, finding resonance throughout the culture. As a testament to the song's power, so many of our worldly geniuses paid tribute to it, including the late Donny Hathaway, Les McCann (who years before asked the question "Compared to What?"), and Ms. Aretha Franklin, who was simply regal singing "My Country Tis of Thee" on this great day. It was like there was collective desire for my generation to always be reminded of our birthright: "You are Young, Gifted, and Black."
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CRITICAL NOIR
Letter to My Daughters: Your President is Black
by Mark Anthony Neal
Dear Daughters,
Your president is Black.
I never thought that I'd ever say those words to you; in fact I can't say that I even imagined what it would be like to say those words to you. For so many of us, a Black president was just some far off wish, but no more far off than those once and always proud New World Africans who dreamed of freedom by "climbing into their heads" as the late Sekou Sundiata once described it. Perhaps that is why so many little black boys and girls have been told over the years, that they too might grow up to become President. And guess what babies--one of us did.
When I was your age, the world was in transition, but filled with the promise of a "new day" ("can you feel it, it's a brand new day" as they sang in the Emerald Cities of Chocolate Lands all across the nation). Two of our great soothsayers (so many of whom we so wish were earthbound to experience this day) captured the expectations of that era with a song called "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black" (and I know, you've heard it many times. When I was your age though, the song was one of the great gifts given to those of us who were expected to most benefit from the struggles of that moment. Years before on-line social networks existed, it was the music that was our social network, and Ms. Simone and Mr. Irvine's "Young Gifted and Black" went viral, finding resonance throughout the culture. As a testament to the song's power, so many of our worldly geniuses paid tribute to it, including the late Donny Hathaway, Les McCann (who years before asked the question "Compared to What?"), and Ms. Aretha Franklin, who was simply regal singing "My Country Tis of Thee" on this great day. It was like there was collective desire for my generation to always be reminded of our birthright: "You are Young, Gifted, and Black."
Read the Full Article @
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