Sunday, October 5, 2008

30 Days and Counting. Let the Blog Begin.

Personal confession #1: I am a political and public affairs junkie.

Barack. Palin.
McCain and Biden too.

Our national financial crisis.
Holding down a job in an economy that is as unpredictable as the weather in Oklahoma.

Struggling schools and dropout rates that are skyrocketing for kids that look like me (and the four year old that lives in my house).
Starting a family, keeping a family, or living single in the midst of it all.

I am just struck by the significance of our national story right now. I am fascinated by these events as they unfold.

No matter what side prevails--we are on our way to history on November 4. And while I am personally excited that, for the first time, a black man could be President of the United States, at the same time, I am not too surprised. While I have great respect for Senator Obama, I'd expect nothing less as a person who has spent most of my adult life surrounded by young, talented leaders of color, many poised for potential greatness of their own.

Today, we are exactly 30 days from the election and some friends and I got together to start this blog. We thought it was important to chronicle our reflections, responses, rants, and reviews of history unfolding around us.

Who are we? To date, we are all people of color, but welcome others to join and actively participate in this conversation.

Collectively, we work on Wall Street, Main Street, Martin Luther King Blvd, Capitol Hill, Silicon Valley, and even Hollywood Blvd.

Some of us are Blue. Some of us are Red. And a few of us are Purple and resent our ideas and beliefs being forced into a category.

We're different voices with different perspectives. We care and we all have something to say.

So, we invite you to join us in the blogosphere for 30 days. None of us our literary giants (at least not yet). We promise to keep it simple, relevant, and at times, humorous.

As for the title of this blog, for most of our lives, we've been told stories of the mothers and fathers of the Civil Rights Movement. These legends were ordinary people who dared to make a difference, not only for themselves, but for their children and their children's children...and that would be us.

In the 1960s, James Baldwin wrote about The Fire Next Time. We figure that what does or does not happen over the next 30 days and beyond depends on our action or inaction--or the action or inaction of people like us. And as our friends and contemporaries become corporate titans, captains of industry, social entrepreneurs, teachers, powerful spiritual leaders, elected officials, mothers, fathers, and even presidential candidates, we've realized that it's now our turn to step up this time.

So that's it. Thirty days and counting. Let the blogging begin!

1 comment:

Invisible Man said...

Who are we? To date, we are all people of color, but welcome others to join and actively participate in this conversation.

Collectively, we work on Wall Street, Main Street, Martin Luther King Blvd, Capitol Hill, Silicon Valley, and even Hollywood Blvd.

Some of us are Blue. Some of us are Red. And a few of us are Purple and resent our ideas and beliefs being forced into a category.


We are the Breakfast Club 2008!