T.D. Jakes
Time.com

The African slaves who provided most of the labor that built the White House never imagined that a black man would ever own embossed stationery that read “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” Even the dreamer himself, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., might not have imagined that 40 short years after his murder, we would be planning an Inauguration of the first man of African descent to ascend to the presidency.

No minority of any ethnicity had ever looked beyond the scarce representation of a few Senators and seen anything that suggested that the doorknob of the Oval Office could be opened by anything other than the hand of a middle-aged white male.

One of the youngest Presidents in the history of our nation will bring new shades to the canvas of white leaders who came before his unprecedented political career. Senator Barack Obama has proved to be a biracial icon who can mobilize blacks and whites alike. Perhaps his mixed parentage gave him the multicultural background needed to be culturally bilingual, creating the dialogue that may bridge our divide.

Our national demographic has metamorphosed into a darker-hued population, which is changing how America plans for the future. The cultural dialogue and language are changing. Political parties, churches and corporations must rethink how we go forward and with whose needs in mind. Without question, Obama’s Administration will reshape the good-ole-boys’ club we have seen for centuries, altering the political terrain, and it may very well spawn new hope for the disenfranchised.

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