Analysis Of Obama's 'Go ! Be A Superhero'

Anna Lebedeva

Professor Graham

HILD 7A

December 9, 2014

A New Hope (Think Piece #2) African American lives were changed the moment President Barack Obama was inaugurated. White people began to see African Americans as more than people they could bully around and blame for vandalism and other petty crimes. At the same time, African Americans saw Obama as a sign of hope and maybe even as their hero or idol as Muhammad did, in Simms' piece "Go! Be a Superhero". People of all ages and back-stories appreciated the rise of an African American person to power. Randall Horton in his article "Brand New Morning" talks about him being a convicted felon who endured many hardships in his childhood because of bullying and injustice. Sent down the wrong

The whole article compilation, "44 on 44" by Hooper, Sanchez, and Simanga is exclusively African Americans writing about Obama's election. Therefore, these people would definitely view Obama as some kind of hero and his election a momentous point in history. Muhammad, the boy in Simms' article, saw Obama as a superhero: "Obama as Superhero spoke to Muhammad in a language that was familiar" (11). This boy looks up to the newly elected president so much, but with his struggles as a kid - with little practical jokes played on him and more serious accusations thrown at him - anyone would see Obama as a superhero. One poem by Walker called "Obama Shuffle" thanks people for standing in line to the voting booth, with a reference to African American's past: "chained together" (20). Walker states metaphorically that the years of torture and slavery brought upon the African Americans earlier in history were undone by Obama's inauguration - that is the kind of joy that he feels towards Obama being elected. Trethewey in "Another Country" writes about her mom's troubles in the 1960s due to her marriage to a white man. She mentions how thrilled her mom would be if she was still alive and saw an African American man be elected as president (58). She is saying that since her mom went through a rough couple of decades she would be more appreciative of a black president than other people would. All of these writers feel that simply

Chuck D and Johnson in their article state that while Obama is in office they with the rest of the African American population hope to see a smaller wealth gap between white people and African Americans as well as a lower percentage of homelessness (45). This couple not only strongly believes in Obama, but also that he can bring reform to the country. Chideya in her article talks about Obama facing many problems that need fixing in the United States, and that he should focus mostly on education (136). This is another example of looking ahead into Obama's presidency and urging him to focus primarily on education. Lastly, Cleage writes about Michelle Obama and how she is as amazing and influential to the world as her husband is. She states, "Michelle Obama would still be a very powerful woman" (27), even if she did not marry Barack Obama. Cleage feels so strongly about Michelle Obama that she goes as far as to say that the First Lady is the best of the new Americans and that she really is America (28). She is trying to say that it was not just the president that changed the US, it was the entire Obama family and that with both Michelle Obama and Barack Obama in power great changes can be made for the country. These writers are imploring Obama to bring change to America since now there is a powerful