Yes You Can - Barack Obama
Hello Camp Family!
This month we are working to #RememberTogether as we honor and celebrate Black History. As a white person, celebrating Black History can sometimes be a little daunting. It can easily feel like it’s not “my history” and that can be an easy-out that prevents us from exploring and learning. However, if we take the time to really understand, we will all quickly see that black history is truly all our our history. Today I’d like to share about a historically important Black man, how he impacted my life, and I’ll also be sharing some resources if you would like to teach your children or family.
Disclaimer: We’re going to be discussing a politician today, but my intention is to try and avoid “politics” and instead focus on a significant historical figure.
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
- President Barack Obama
Most American’s are very well aware of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the USA. As our first Black President, and indeed our first person of color to ever hold the highest office, President Obama broke down barriers that many thought could never be broken. Personally, I was a young man when then Senator Obama ran for the office of President. I remember being inspired by his bravery, yet as a white person I do not think I fully understood the impact of his election, and how it showed just how far our nation has come on the journey to equality.
President Obama is widely known as a thoughtful and intelligent man, a loving father, and one of the greatest public speakers in US history. Personally I have always admired his strength to stand up and seek change in spite of the challenges in front of him. As the former President once said himself -
“I noticed that there was nobody like me in the Sears, Roebuck Christmas catalog. . .and that Santa was a white man,” he wrote. “I went into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror with all my senses and limbs seemingly intact, looking as I had always looked, and wondered if something was wrong with me.”
No matter how anyone might feel about his politics or policies, I am forever grateful to President Obama. I am grateful that he broke through and showed the world that a person with black skin (or any skin) doesn’t have to look at themselves and wonder if something is wrong with them. They can look at themselves and say, I look like a President.
Resources for Teaching about Barack Obama:
Basic History and Biography - https://www.biography.com/us-president/barack-obama
Kid Friendly YouTube History - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_JqxqkGExc
Short Biography - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfMG06nOJ_4
Barack Obama Website and Foundation - https://barackobama.com/