UPTOWNflavor

Reprinted courtesy of Dawson Ink, Special to UPTOWNflavor

By William I. Dawson

Like everything else in life, this week–this historic week that’s somehow and subjectively been “bigger than everything”–comes back to music. It’s been equal parts melody and harmony, a sweet-sounding pitch, undeniable power and a ridiculous pace. It’s been the perfect verse over a tight beat. Indeed, the election of Barack Hussein Obama, the first-ever African American President of the United States, has been like a song that’s made me sing along.

I sing America, just like Langston Hughes did when he wrote “I, Too, Sing America” so many years ago, never being sure that the week that just took place ever would. That poignant poem, and its message of a race growing strong, of a tomorrow where they would be at the dinner table eating with company; that poem that spoke of a future when their nation would see how beautiful they were, and be ashamed…that’s the song I sing today.

It’s not just because of this week that I sing, no, it’s because of a large part of the past two years, as one note became a few bars, and then a measure, and that measure a stanza, and then a composition, and then a Movement. A Sonata in Barack Major. An Obama Opus.

On this day, in this moment in time, I sing America in full operatic tenor, no longer standing timid in the shadows, masking my voice and opinions in order to make others comfortable. I sing of the opportunities that await a newly united nation. I sing of its flaws and bask in its promise.

I sing America in my sleep nowadays, with the words “Yes He Did” and “Forty-Four” escaping my lips with a smile. I sing of a little girl whose teeth will grow back while in the White House. I sing of a First Lady who reminds me of my sister, and supports her husband just like my mother did, speaks wisdom just like my grandmother.

Today, I can’t yet sing of victory. There are too many roads that need repaving, too many infrastructures that need to be firmed. Instead, I sing of hope. And change. And a democracy that saw fit to do the same. I sing because I’m excited to be a part of the process.

I sing to stop myself from crying at the feet of my father, and his father, and all the Black men that never had a chance to see what I’ve seen. I sing for their never having the opportunity to see their mother, America, in her finest light, as the nourishing parent they deserved. The one in which they placed their hope, and their children’s hope.

I sing for an unforgettable night in Harlem, New York, a celebration dance in Kenya, Africa, a drum salute in Obama, Japan, and an “Election Slide” in Washington, DC.

And like a great Jazz set, the ones where there’s a plan but no structure, I freestyle toward the future, knowing that if we work together, play in harmony and watch for our cues, everything will work out in the end.

Right now, I sing America because I’m proud. And because I can. Right now, I am America. Part of her fabric, her tapestry. Sitting at her dinner table, beautiful. Right now, I am a part of America’s song.

Just like Langston said I would be.

Yes, he did.

© 2008 Dawson Ink Media
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Will Dawson is the creator of Dawson’s Ink.  He is a former contributor to UPTOWNflavor, and currently contributes to Soulbounce, Yanni’s Block and Friday Favecast.