Young, Black & Inspired by Barack Obama

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Growing up in a predominantly white suburb, I remember being 7 years old, kneeling to say my bedtime prayers and asking God why he made Black people and why did I have to be one of them.

I was teased, made fun of, even beaten by classmates because of my race. I could read the same books, play the same sports and even sing the same songs, but they never accepted me because I was Black and they were white. It didn't matter that my father earned as much and in some cases more than their fathers. I was hated because of something I couldn't change.  

There were moments when I was not proud to be Black. Every time I was passed over for something I knew I earned or won, it cut like a knife. I used to find myself trying too hard to fit in with other people. I was always changing things about myself, hoping it would force acceptance from the other side. My hair, my makeup, the way I talked and who I socialized with were all on a block waiting to be chopped up if they did not fit the mold.

I had so much to be proud of; I am the great, great, great-grandchild of a female slave, Emma Gertrude Onion (shown in the photo above) who purchased the land where she was once beaten, mentally attacked and socially oppressed. I had successful role models around me like my parents; my aunt, who founded and ran her own company; and grandparents who enjoyed a comfortable early retirement. Still, this was not enough. It wasn't until I understood the history and achievements of Black people that I really began to realize I had so much to be proud of and inspired by. History is so important to one's development. The following moments in history speak to me and contribute to why I hold my head high:

1847: Frederick Douglass launched the abolitionist newspaper the North Star

1852: An African American was featured as a hero for the first time in a novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin

1863: Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation

1920's: Harlem Renaissance began

1947: Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers

1954: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

1963: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the "I Have A Dream Speech"

1965: Malcolm X was assassinated

1967: Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court

1968: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated

1985: Oprah Winfrey's talk show debuted

2004: Barack Obama was elected senator

2007: Oprah Winfrey opened a school for girls in South Africa

2008: Barack Obama is expected to win the Democratic nomination for president

Witnessing a Black man and a white woman competing for the right to represent the Democrats in the 2008 U.S. presidential election is something I never thought would happen in my lifetime. Obama's ability to draw young people is amazing. I am truly inspired and ready to take the next step toward being an inspiration to someone the way Barack Obama is an inspiration to me.

I am a proud, young Black woman and am loving every moment of it. 

Carolynn Johnson is Vice President of Business Development at DiversityInc and is responsible for the career center, web and magazine production.

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