What Obama's Inauguration Means
Last night we were fortunate enough to watch Barack Obama’s inauguration at the little Kawama Tavern. It was truly a unique experience to see Zambians intently focused on his speech and hear their cheers as he spoke of his plans for working with the rest of the world. The impact of his election is truly a global one. In our office, yesterday, the showing of the inauguration was preceded by a video of people, mainly employees, sharing what this moment in history means to them, beyond all political considerations. I have another story to add to those, that I think truly displays what this really means.
After we arrived, we made friends quickly with the children here, and I personally have spent a lot of time with three boys: Shepard, 11, Mozo, 8, and David, 6. Over the course of this week Shepard and I have spent a lot of time talking as we walked from one place to another, or while I was taking a break from building. During our conversations, he, on multiple occasions, pointed to my white skin and called it beautiful, then pointed to his own black skin and called it not beautiful. He’s only 11 years old. I tried and I tried to convince him how beautiful his skin was and how our skin was the same, just a different shade. It didn’t work. I tried telling him how much better his skin was, because mine burnt and got red in the sun. He still thought his was ugly. It broke my heart to hear him say that to me repeatedly and I didn’t know what I could say to him, to get him to see himself in a positive light and not as less than anyone with white skin.
Yesterday, as I walked to Kawama Tavern for the inauguration, I was joined by my friend Shepard. He asked where I was going and I told him that my country, the United States, had a new President today and he was giving a big speech. Thanks to Zambia’s recent election, he understood me well. I asked if he knew who our new President was. He said no, but when asked he told me that he was familiar with the name Barack Obama. I asked Shepard if he knew what color our new President’s skin was. He said no. When I told him that it was black—just like his—Shepard’s eyes got big in disbelief. He made me repeat myself twice, then continued to speak these words out loud in a hushed tone of amazement, pointing to his own skin, over and over again, as he continued to process the news: “The new President of America is black! Not white!” Suddenly, one skin color wasn’t inferior to another in his mind. That is what this moment means.
Sharing that moment with Shepard was absolutely incredible. Over the next few days, our Elon friends will be interviewing Zambians to get their reactions to the inauguration. They also have some great photos and pictures from last night. I’d be happy to share their final product, whenever it’s available with anyone interested.