On Jan. 20, businessman and former reality television host Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. I cannot overstate how terrifying and dangerous this is. If at this point, you cannot understand why the reality of a Donald Trump presidency is terrifying to some people, I’ll let the next four years show you. But I digress, as we still have a little bit of time left with President Obama.
Earlier this week, President Obama gave his farewell address in his home city of Chicago. This was one of his final public appearances as President. As of today, the United States have seven days left of Barack Hussein Obama II as the first Black president of the United States.
For the last eight years, a Black man has served as president; even at the young age of 12, I never thought this to be possible.
Growing up in the age of George W. Bush, 9/11 and the Iraq War, seeing President Obama enter the highest office was a remarkable moment. Words cannot accurately describe what seeing a Black man as President meant for a young Black boy growing up in North Carolina. I remember election night 2008 as a 7th grader, rejoicing with my family as something we thought would never happen actually came to fruition.
I remember the morning of his inauguration, and being fearful that he would be shot by an assassin. Seeing him being sworn in, and watching it all take place again as a junior in high school in 2012, were highlights of my adolescence.
As the first Black president, President Obama and his family have faced scrutiny and persecution like no other first family. From critics alleging that he was an undercover Muslim extremist, to questioning if he really attended Columbia University and Harvard Law School, his ability and legitimacy have been questioned since before he was even elected president.
There was a full fledged movement, led by incoming President Donald Trump, dedicated to proving that he was born in Kenya and that his birth certificate was fake. Through it all, the president has faced every moment with poise and grace like no one before him.
President Obama was not the perfect president. Not by any means. His stances on drone warfare were atrocious. Although he is the first president since the 1970s to preside over the reduction of the federal prison population, I would still argue that he should have done more to end the war on drugs, which contributed greatly to mass incarceration. In addition, I believe that he should have been more overtly critical of systemic racial disparities.
Regardless, President Obama made the impossible possible for Black Americans during his time in office. His presidency was nowhere near flawless, but his status as a symbolic and cultural figure will have a lasting influence for generations to come.
