As a black immigrant presently living in the United Kingdom at the stage of starting a family, the election of Barrack Obama is very emotional and significant to me. To me it means I can tell my children to look beyond Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela as a role model. These figures were great people who were confident enough in their skin colours to stand up and fight against the injustices thrown at them for being black. While that generation fought, we are at the receiving end of the fruit of their labour. Barrack Obama presidency signifies the start of a new generation. I can tell my children to see beyond their colour in achieving their dreams. While I'm not under any illusion that this is the end of racism, I will confidently teach my children to make the case for their education, promotions or aspirations without bitterness or anger. They can look at the son of a Kenyan as a man who did not make race an issue in his run for the most important office in the United States, and yet confident in his skin. There are too many black people who are still unnecessarily struggling with the prejudice of anger against slavery, colonisation, segregation and apartheid. To me, an Obama presidency signifies the triumph of a mentality which does not totally blame the white people for all the problems facing the black race. It is a victory over the idea of 'we against them'. Yesterday's landslide paves the way for a new beginning. An assurance that my children will be evaluated based on the content of their character and not on the colour of their skin or the weirdness of their name.
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