A New Black American Hero

As I talk with youth and teens throughout DC, I get a very real sense of who their pop-culture icons are. And 99.99% of the time, the pictures they have on their Myspace, the names they have on their notebooks and on their lips are largely rappers, TV & movie stars, musicians and sports celebrities. Unfortunately in all of these professions, one's talent can outshine their intellect. We might get a sense of their business savvy (Russell Simmons, Diddy, Jay-Z, etc) but there is no public indication of their mental prowess. Even with the stars that were mentioned parenthetically, there is an over-arching inference that says, "I gotta be cool. I gotta have swag." OR "It's all about making more money."

Now I realize that politicians have their hangups as well. But at the heart of a true politician.....(insert Obama)....is the general concern and welfare of other people. Actually, politicians are public servants. Their primary concern is people. They're in office to take care of the needs of people.

So in this instance, we now have a AA figure who is not publically concerned with "gettin dat money" or trash talking and trying to win a championship. This is a smart black man who is trying to make change for the benefit of the American people. Sidenote: I realize that he's not the 1st smart black public figure in our generation. But going back to the last 20-30 years, nobody ( not Colin Powell, Jesse Jackson, etc) has entered into "pop culture", is widely recognized and is respected and accepted by all youth the way Obama is!