I don’t know about anyone else, but the great feeling I got when I found out Barack Obama had enough Electoral College votes to become president is still hanging on. Even though it’s too soon for President-elect Obama to do the things he’s promised, change has already taken place, especially for African-Americans. The fact that a black man could become leader of the free world gives us the feeling that we all can do more than we thought we could.

I was fortunate enough to have grown up in a small town where a “yes, you can” attitude was present almost everywhere I turned. In Tuskegee, black doctors, scientists and nurses, college presidents, professors and teachers, inventors, pilots, etc. were the norm.  The question for children growing up then was not “Can I be successful?” but just a matter of deciding what we’d be successful at. And yes, I know that isn’t proper grammar; that’s why I didn’t decide to be successful at being an English teacher!

When I left Tuskegee, I was surprised to find out that most black people didn’t have the same experiences we ha in our little town. No matter where I lived, I gravitated toward the most successful black people. My mentor became John H. Johnson, founder of Johnson Publishing Company, publishers of Ebony and Jet. Mr. Johnson understood how important it is for black people to learn about other black people who had done well. He realized that you’re more likely to aspire to do big things if you see people who look like doing it first.

For a guy like me, reading about these successful African-Americans affirmed what I already knew. But if it weren’t for Ebony and Jet, some people wouldn’t have known that a black man or woman could be a chemist or a surgeon or whatever they worked hard to achieve. Of course, every successful black person didn’t wait around looking for a black role model. Some black people had the drive, the confidence and the power to break new ground.

Barack Obama has changed almost everything we thought we knew for sure. What a black man would and could achieve and what America would tolerate is different than what was perceived just a year ago.

Today’s theme show is called "Power to the People: The New Age of Empowerment." Producer Erica Taylor wants us to think about how having the first African-American president has empowered us, how we empower others and how we’ve managed to get back the power we’ve lost.

Barack Obama, whether he’s a great president or not, has already done one great thing for sure. He’s reminded us that when the odds are against us, when they say it can’t be done, when all hope seems lost, we can push forward and win. Power to the people!