Being Black Now

With the recent success of brother Barack and the subsequent victory of the Pittsburg Steelers in the SuperBowl (being coached and lead by brother Mike Tomlin) earlier this year...being Black, right now, has never felt so empowering. It may be a reach, but think about it: sports, like politics, is equally and inherently racist, and in extraordinary fashion, a Black man became the president of the United States; and yet, in another extraordinary fashion, a Black head coach wins the Super Bowl becoming icons in their respective "arenas."

Now, sports has always been a disturbingly, singular reality for most Black young men in America, but now when you think of "Black" you can connote not only sinewy, ball-dribbling, slam dunking bodies on the basketball court or incendiary, elusive, unstoppable, running-backs on the football field -- but also: Politics, and President ...and Possibility ...and "Yes" ...and Opportunity! All these once seemingly foreign terms when talking about Blacks has become -- even in this premier occurence -- the status quo. Black people have a "heritage" to uphold now: if its not going to be that of Dr. King , ...or even that of Rosa Parks, ... or maybe even that of Gandhi... It should be that of President Barack Obama -- a vestige of progress, and success, and even "mission accomplishment" in Black America.

*Picture courtesy of pro.corbis.com