The Shape Up

In the African American community, barbershops and beauty salons have traditionally been the place to solicit opinions on everything from religion to pop culture to politics (and all things in between). And this barbershop in "New Jerusalem" was no different. The discussions were loud and the laughter was louder.

The discussion that dominated this landscape? The election of Barack Hussein Obama II, the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, as President of the United States. The joy of this latest happening resonated far beyond this barbershop and is colorblind. There are those of us who truly believe that he will hold firm to his mantra to be an agent of change. We are desperate to distance ourselves from the disaster (yes, I said it -- and... what?! Y'all know I ain't lying) that was the Bush administration. (He will be forever known as the "worst president in U.S. history" y'all! One word: DAMN!)

No longer should we "take a little off the top" in regards to our determination to be a force to reckon with on the world stage. As he exclaimed in his victory speech: "Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow." So, we stand with great anticipation that in the next four years we will be completely reshaped as a nation. I'm excited...aren't you? :o)

Newark, New Jersey