Obama Victory Buoys Black America
Candidate's presumptive nomination strikes a deep chord with African Americans.
June 4, 2008— -- Across the country on black radio, they were calling it the happiest day in America.
At his studios in Dallas, Tom Joyner, a nationally syndicated black radio host, was jubilant over Sen. Barack Obama's ride to clinching the Democratic nomination for president. Taking a call, he said, "Isn't this a great morning?"
"It's a historic morning," the caller said, jokingly correcting him.
Joyner's enthusiasm was endless and echoed in black households across the country.
"If you have a bad day at the office," he said, "no matter -- it's a Barack Obama day. If you go to the gas pump and you have to pump $80 worth of gas, so what -- it's Barack Obama day."
Obama defied a long-held belief among African Americans -- that America would never be ready for the moment when an African American would be able to truly announce, "I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States."
Obama's nomination is a watershed moment, said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, author of "How the GOP Can Keep the White House, How the Democrats Can Take it Back."
"None of the stereotypical negatives apply in this case," he said. "That's why you see so many African Americans rushing to him. That's why you see so many African Americans cheering -- because, for the first time in a long time, we see a guy who's come along that represents the best and the brightest in terms of achievement attainment."
Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a veteran of the civil rights struggle, said that Obama's victory speech Tuesday night in Minneapolis brought tears to his eyes. He said Obama's achievement makes the beatings he suffered and the deaths of so many civil rights leaders seem worthwhile.
"Just a few short years ago, in a state like the state of Alabama, in the city of Montgomery, blacks and whites couldn't ride in a taxi cab together, couldn't stay in the same hotel, couldn't eat in the same restaurant, people could not register to vote," Lewis said.
"And now, these same people, their offspring, their children," Lewis added, "are registered [to vote], and they voted for Barack Obama in the primary and will vote for him again in November."
Lewis and many others said that young black Americans now have a powerful new role model who is neither a musician nor a professional athlete.
At an Atlanta-area summer camp, 9-year-old Jeremiah Darden proudly announced, "If Barack Obama can do it, I can do it."
Related Stories
ABC News Live