This is what President Obama represents

I consider this to still be THE picture of Barack Obama's Presidency.

From The NYTimes:

When a Boy Found a Familiar Feel in a Pat of the Head of State

By JACKIE CALMES

Published: May 23, 2012

For decades at the White House, photographs of the president at work and at play have hung throughout the West Wing, and each print soon gives way to a more recent shot. But one picture of President Obama remains after three years.

In the photo, Mr. Obama looks to be bowing to a sharply dressed 5-year-old black boy, who stands erect beside the Oval Office desk, his arm raised to touch the president’s hair — to see if it feels like his. The image has struck so many White House aides and visitors that by popular demand it stays put while others come and go.

As a candidate and as president, Mr. Obama has avoided discussing race except in rare instances when he seemed to have little choice — responding to the racially incendiary words of his former pastor, for example, or to the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Florida. Some black leaders criticize Mr. Obama for not directly addressing young blacks or proposing policies specifically for them.

Yet the photo is tangible evidence of what polls also show: Mr. Obama remains a potent symbol for blacks, with a deep reservoir of support. As skittish as White House aides often are in discussing race, they also clearly revel in the power of their boss’s example.

The boy in the picture is Jacob Philadelphia of Columbia, Md. Three years ago this month, his father, Carlton, a former Marine, was leaving the White House staff after a two-year stint on the National Security Council that began in the Bush administration. As departing staff members often do, Mr. Philadelphia asked for a family photograph with Mr. Obama.

When the pictures were taken and the family was about to leave, Mr. Philadelphia told Mr. Obama that his sons each had a question. In interviews, he and his wife, Roseane, said they did not know what the boys would ask. The White House photographer, Pete Souza, was surprised, too, as the photo’s awkward composition attests: The parents’ heads are cut off; Jacob’s arm obscures his face; and his older brother, Isaac, is blurry.

Jacob spoke first.

“I want to know if my hair is just like yours,” he told Mr. Obama, so quietly that the president asked him to speak again.

Jacob did, and Mr. Obama replied, “Why don’t you touch it and see for yourself?” He lowered his head, level with Jacob, who hesitated.

“Touch it, dude!” Mr. Obama said.

As Jacob patted the presidential crown, Mr. Souza snapped.

“So, what do you think?” Mr. Obama asked.

“Yes, it does feel the same,” Jacob said.

(Isaac, now 11, asked Mr. Obama why he had eliminated the F-22 fighter jet. Mr. Obama said it cost too much, Isaac and his parents recounted.)

In keeping with a practice of White House photographers back to Gerald R. Ford’s presidency, each week Mr. Souza picks new photos for display. That week, Jacob’s easily made the cut.

“As a photographer, you know when you have a unique moment. But I didn’t realize the extent to which this one would take on a life of its own,” Mr. Souza said. “That one became an instant favorite of the staff. I think people are struck by the fact that the president of the United States was willing to bend down and let a little boy feel his head.”

............................................

A copy of the photo hangs in the Philadelphia family’s living room with several others taken that day. Mr. Philadelphia, now in Afghanistan for the State Department, said: “It’s important for black children to see a black man as president. You can believe that any position is possible to achieve if you see a black person in it.”

Jacob, now 8, said he indeed does want to be president. “Or a test pilot.

When Mr. Charles Alexander Met Barack Obama

You Need Inspiration, Here You Go

From CNN.com:

106-year-old voter shares hopes, secrets
By Robert Johnson
CNN

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Ann Nixon Cooper, 106 years old, has seen presidents come and go in her lifetime and has outlived most of them. On a sunny fall morning, she left her weathered but well-kept Tudor home in Atlanta, Georgia, to vote early -- this time for Barack Obama.

The African-American centenarian remembers a time not long ago when she was barred from voting because of her race. Now she hopes to see the day that Obama is elected as the nation's first black president.

"I ain't got time to die," Cooper said with a smile.

"Even if he didn't win, I was happy for him just to be nominated," said the former socialite. "The first black president -- isn't that something, at 106 years old?"

At the Fulton County government center, Cooper was greeted by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

"I thought that I would accompany her today to support her, but also to say to all people that this is a choice we have," Franklin said.

"As all Americans, we should cherish the right to vote and take every opportunity we have to vote our opinions. She is an inspiration to me personally, but she is also quite an inspiration to all Atlanta." Watch Cooper talk about her life and experiences »

Cooper, in a wheelchair and helped by two caretakers, bypassed the long lines of early voters and headed right to the voting machine. Her 106-year-old hands reached out to the 21st-century touch screen to cast her vote for Obama. iReport.com: How do you feel about the election and Colin Powell's endorsement?

Back at her home, surrounded by the elegance of a bygone era, Cooper clutched the photo albums laid out on her dining room table. The longtime socialite and community leader has called Atlanta home since the 1920s. See images of Cooper's day »

She and her late husband, prominent dentist Dr. Albert Cooper, raised four children in this house.

"Our days and nights were just social affairs," she said. The home was a center of Atlanta's black society and the scene of many parties. Celebrities, including the late singer Nat King Cole, dropped in to visit.

"It's been a house with a heap of living going on in it," said Cooper.

She wears a charm bracelet that former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young gave her when she turned 99.

"He adds a charm every year," said friend and caretaker Sally Warner. "Andy says he will have to apply for a loan soon to keep up with Mrs. Cooper."

Cooper danced the electric slide up until the age of 103. She has recently slowed down after suffering several heart attacks and a fractured hip.

On a typical day, Cooper spends hours watching television in her wood-paneled sitting room.

"Her favorite show is 'The Price is Right,' although she is getting used to Drew Carey as the new host," said Warner. Other favorite shows include "Oprah" and "Dancing with the Stars."

When the weather is nice, Cooper spends afternoons on her screened porch, watching traffic go by and reminiscing about old times. Occasionally she leaves the house for an outing.

Cooper was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in 1902. She grew up in Nashville with uncles and an aunt who worked as a domestic for wealthy whites.

She married Albert Cooper in Nashville in 1922, and the couple moved to Atlanta. Three of Cooper's four children have died; her surviving daughter is 83. She has 14 grandchildren living and many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.


When asked about the secret to her longevity, Cooper said, "I don't know how it happened, but being cheerful had a lot to do with it. I've always been a happy person, a giggling person -- a wide-mouthed person!"

To young people, Cooper offers this advice: "Keep smiling. No matter what, you get out and vote. Vote your choice."

First of all, she's looking good for 106!

And second of all, listen to the Elders.

" I Cried My Last Tears Yesterday"

I found this over at The Field

Guest Post from a Field Hand: "I Cried My Last Tears Yesterday"
Posted by Al Giordano - October 10, 2008 at 3:27 pm By Al Giordano

Dear Al,

The words in the subject line are from a gospel song by Mary Mary:


I feel that way. I write to you because I think you know how I feel, where I am coming from, and the struggle that we have all been on for so long.

If it matters, I am an African American single mother-This election means more to me than I can find the words to describe. I love this country despite all of our history.

And yesterday, I cried my last tears, after I watch the venomous, vile, and vitriolic display at the McCain-Palin rally unfold over the last few days. I was raised in a Southern Baptist church, and I was taught as a young child when things look bleak and you are backed up against a wall you just let go and let God. We as AAs have been subjected to the system and have the philosophy ingrained that we have to accept the things that we can not change.

Well here and now damn it--I have cried my last tears yesterday. I am going to fight!

I love the principles that our country was founded on--and I hate what some people are resorting to. And we will fulfill the promise of a More Perfect Union.

This is the election that will either save or end my life as I know it--nonetheless I will be different. I am different.

Just as I find comfort in the sentiments of an old negro spiritual, I find comfort in the words on your blog. You express--in clear succinct terms what I am feeling, what I am going through, and how I can make it to the other side. I can't cry any more.

This moment has ignited a new found sense of civic duty, civic pride, and civic virtue that I have never experienced before. I owe it all to the residual effects of being an organizer.

Al, keep on telling the people how important this is.

Keep telling them to push one step further.

Keep telling them my struggle is our struggle .

Tell em' not to cry.

Cause I cried my last tears, yesterday.

Between this, and Donna Brazile, it's like I'm going to church up in here.

What Do You See When You Watch This?

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

(I know how to embed, but when I published the post, it came up automatically, and I can't stand videos that start automatically. So, that's why the link.)

Me?

I see a creative and positive way to reach these young men using the longstanding traditions of Black Greek organizations.

I hear principles of self-reliance, independence, reinforcing that they can use their minds to make it in this country. I hear the Old School Lessons.

But, maybe it's just me.

But, I guess for some folks, the only way they're comfortable with Young Black Men is with a ball in their hand, or in line getting ready for the prison bus.

The teacher behind this was suspended, by the way. Why do I suspect that if his plan for these young men had been playing basketball afterschool, nobody would be talking about suspending him?