Jeff Reflects on Historic Presidential Election

President-elect Obama and his mother-in-law share a personal moment, watching election results.

On Monday, the day before the historic election, I received a call from Tom Joyner's organization, asking if I could serve as a special correspondent, covering the elections in Atlanta for their Website - BlackAmericaweb.com. To me, receiving a call from Tom Joyner or his people, in my purview, is like receiving a call to serve from President-elect Obama. Ok, I know my analogy seems a little extreme. However, I want you to understand my love for Tom Joyner and all the work he does in the community. Tom Joyner has done more for black America and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) through his radio show than any other DJ in the history of radio. He uses the power of radio - as a true party with a purpose.


President-elect Obama is in prayer mode, while viewing election results.

Since I've been yearning to test my political chops nationally, I was honored to accept the challenge. This assignment gave me an opportunity to have an insider's perspective on the mechanics of the election process. Furthermore, it gave me an opportunity to help record history, sharing the stories of everyday people - from a proud white mother taking her seven-year-old adopted black son to the polls to vote for the first black president to an anxious grandmother taking her three school-aged black grandsons to the polls helping to elect a black president to talking to election officials throughout the state monitoring voting concerns to gauging a twelve-hour national lock-in event occurring at Spelman College to checking on the status of 10,000 flawed absentee ballots being transferred and coded in hopes of being tallied for election day. Like most in the urban media, our goal is to cover stories, which would otherwise be ignored by mainstream media.




With that being said, over the past forty-eight hours, I have had an opportunity to reflect about our new "First Family." Like most Americans, I am beaming with pride. After "The First Family" and Biden's family appeared together hand-in-hand on the stage, after the "Victory Speech," it was the first time I had ever seen an America - that truly reflects the one we live in.

And, early Wednesday morning, as I was scanning the airwaves seeking post-election reactions, I heard one DJ from a mainstream radio station state, "I felt excluded from Tuesday's celebration." However, most Americans for so long, have never realized - we, as people of color, have felt like outsiders in our own country for years. Until now, there hasn't been anyone in my generation that has been able to galvanize us to become apart of a force larger than ourselves. Because of President-elect Obama, I, like many of you, actually help register several first-time voters, assisted many in applying for an absentee ballot, and in some cases aided a few in completing their absentee ballot.

Dr. Raphel Warnock, senior minister of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and Morehouse alumnus, says, “We’ve finally made it to the promise land.” Warnock’s words echoes the words of another “Morehouse Man” - Dr. King, who once co-pastured at Ebenezer. Being that Warnock and I weren't around when King was here, I can only imagine this moment has to be similar to a number of memorable historical events from the sixties.

Although I am a few years younger than our next president, he, too, serves not only as role model to me, but as a role model to a generation of black boys. For me, I am learning how to remain calm and steady during turbulent times, taking the high road, which is often the road less traveled. For others, they're realizing they can be all they can be - even president. Being that I am not striving to become president, my goal is to be like Tom Joyner. Unlike Tom Joyner, I am only working to become the main source for African Americans to seek all of their automotive needs.



Because of our new "First Family," the world will begin to view us differently and we must determine how we can support our new leader, by being the best we can be - better fathers, better mothers, better parents, better sons, better daughters and foremost, being more engaged in making our communities a better place to live and educate our children. Yes, we can. Yes, we did. Now, we must do!

To check out one of my historic election day stories on Tom Joyner's site, click here.