“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.” – Barack Obama
Who better exemplifies being “the change that we seek” than the very first Black president of the United States? Barack Obama made history when he was elected the 44th president of the United States on November 4, 2008. I was only seven years old when this historical moment took place.
To this day, I still remember the excitement of my Black classmates in second grade the morning after the election. Some said they would run for president in the future just like Obama. Others shared stories about celebrating with their family upon hearing the election results. Among the commotion, a few students, including my younger self, spoke about how they would become the first Black woman to be president. Whether or not these students would run for president in the future was not the point. The point was my Black classmates finally felt like they could hold one of the most powerful positions in America because someone in that position finally looked like them.
Sometimes, we can get caught up in planning. We might speak of change and even make excessive plans on how we will enact it. Yet, the most important step is to just begin. Change can not happen without action. Action can not happen without initiative. Your first step does not have to be big. However, you must take the first step in order to begin the journey towards change. I encourage you to stop waiting for the ‘perfect’ time because there is no perfect time but the present. Do something today that puts you on the right path towards being the change you desire to see.
I am pleased to present the fourth issue of Nineteen Fifty-Six to you all. I hope this magazine issue encourages you to be the change you desire and remember you are a part of Black history.