Roger Porter
May 23, 2011
Remember that brief but magical period of time after Barrack Obama was elected president and before Oscar Grant was murdered by BART cops? I am convinced that the months of November and December 2008 was the absolute high point for American politics. It was a golden minute if you will.
I must admit even after I voted for Obama I never, never, never, ever thought that he would actually win. I just knew that white America would never allow a black man to run this country so when they did I had to question myself. I had to question the radical agenda that has come to define me since adolescence. I recall contemplating for hours about how much of a pessimist I had become and how it was eating away at my soul. For it had now been proven that America was nowhere near as racist as I thought it was—it was a very strange time.
During those last months of 2008 I felt, dare I say it, almost patriotic. I felt like I was included in the American dream. I honestly felt proud of the system. For two months I was lost in a state of bliss only previously known to the American elite.
And then no sooner than I went to sleep I saw the video tape of Oscar Grant being murdered on the 5:00 news and was forced to wait about a month before any official charges were filed. This caused me to wake up flustered and embarrassed with myself for believing that things had changed; that progress had been made, that WE were headed in the right direction. It’s a shame.
I am, however, still grateful to say that I lived in the golden minute of American politics. I will cherish that moment for the rest of my life.