For the first time in my life I can truly say that I am proud to be an American.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather be no where else but here, but I can admit that I lost hope for a second in our great country. As I stood in front of the television watching the results for electoral votes coming in, I couldn’t help but feel on edge.

‘What if Barack Obama actually wins,’ I thought watching the states on the map on screen turn red and blue.

When it was announced that he actually won, I found myself in total shock. Excitement came over me in a way that I had never felt before. I smiled and laughed, as everyone else did, but it really didn’t set in until I received a call from my grandmother.

‘We made history today baby,’ she said as she watched the commentary on the news after Obama’s speech.

Those words set so deep in my spirit that I couldn’t help but cry. History truly was made and I, for once, could associate myself with it in a proud manner. For the first time I was filled with pride in my country, but mostly pride in my culture and race.

Being African American has been a blessing and a curse. I always dreaded opening any history book because the main representation of anything ‘black’ has been slavery, Martin Luther King Jr., and the prison system.

Despite the fact that many other prominent African American’s in history do exist, they really haven’t been recognized or praised in a manner they deserve.

Over the years I have grown more and more fed up with my people continuously being a statistic. I’ve watched the light of ‘Black America’ that once shined so bright during the Black Power Movement fade away and African American’s feeling of self worth seemed to get dimmer and dimmer.

I’ve worried about my younger siblings and their future. Who would they look up to?

Would they ever really be able to experience true pride in themselves and their race? I’ve hoped that they would have someone to identify with other than rappers or video girls.

My heart has cried out for my people that seemed to have disappeared in society. Living in a time in which African American leadership seems to only be a thing of the church, I too have often wondered if there was anything more for us.

The media has often portrayed us in a manner that makes even one like myself lose respect for the black race, so I can’t help but wonder what others are thinking.

I feel sick to my stomach when I think of what my people have become. A race that once fought for equal rights now fights each other for no reason. A great people that once marched on Capitol Hill singing ‘We shall overcome’ now find pleasure in singing ‘Superman that hoe.’ A unit that once sacrificed their freedom and went to jail for freeing other slaves are now being jailed for the destruction of their own kind through drugs. A time for change has come.

Now I can truly say that my worries have been lifted. My brothers and sisters now know that we can do great things, and hopefully will feel inspired to do great things themselves. African Americans are more than a statistic, we are a great people. We can produce great things out of our community.

For the first time a ‘black’ face will be added to the images of presidents that have led our nation. For the first time an African American will stand on the steps of our nation’s capital, which might I add were steps built by slaves, and be sworn into office for presidency.

For the first time I can say that I am proud of my people, my country and myself. A change has come and we have overcome the failed leadership of our past. For the first time I can truly say ‘Yes We Can.” ‘