Obama's Father's Day Speech: My Reflections as a White Boy

As I watched Obama's Father's Day speech, speaking powerfully against the backdrop of a fully African American choir, I could not help but think: could Obama inspire poor blacks in poverty to rise above such standards, to rise above such a life?

Yes, this is a completely loaded question, and in a way rhetorical. I don't know if I can, or should, even answer such a question.

And yet, this question inadvertently popped up in my mind while watching his speech. Obama is a truly inspiring figure, to people of all walks of life. But one group that Obama (not surprisingly) has really hit something special with are African Americans. These black students can explain the sentiment better than I, a white boy, can.

That inspiration, that enthusiasm, resounds so deeply, it seems, that Obama could shape the African American community for years, and even generations, to come.

Obama spoke about the struggles many blacks face today at the hands of poverty,

But if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that what
too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and
too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like
boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker
because of it.

You and I know how true this is in
the African-American community. We know that more than half of all
black children live in single-parent households, a number that has
doubled – doubled – since we were children. We know the statistics –
that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely
to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out
of schools and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are
more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or
become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community
are weaker because of it.

He goes on to talk about the personal responsibility people have as parents (and especially fathers) to their children, to set "examples of excellence" for their children. Sure, you have a job. But you can get a better one. Sure, you get B's in school, but isn't there a grade higher than that? Always strive for more.

He said,

That’s why we pass on the values of empathy and kindness to our
children by living them. We need to show our kids that you’re not
strong by putting other people down – you’re strong by lifting them up.
That’s our responsibility as fathers.

When did the black community last have a true representative to say such things? A true representative that black children could look up to, could be inspired by? Obama, I believe, is that representative. And I believe that with Obama to set the stage, blacks suffering from poverty, violence, and hardship, can perhaps feel a motivation and inspiration they haven't felt in years, if ever. Perhaps that inspiration that Obama seems to magically elicit can help push them forward. I don't know.

Perhaps I don't even have a true right to speak of such things as the white boy that I am. Obama has influenced me to do things I never would have before (I am more involved in politics than ever before, and I even scraped together money to donate to him, for example, where I never had felt the desire to before). As a white boy who has been so inspired by Obama, I can only imagine how so many in the black community must feel.

I'll finish with this small story. Recently I was spoke with a very good friend of mine who happens to be black. I was curious, having never really thought of asking before then, and inquired, "why do you support Obama?" she smiled and said, "he's my people." Some may find such a sentiment racist in nature. I find it genuinely inspiring.