Politics

READ MORE VOTER STORIES Myles and Nina Bell West Chester, Ohio Miles: Barack Obama is a beast. I like what he stands for. He wants to help people. The gas prices are high; he’s trying to lower them. He’s going to make sure that more people get insurance and that everybody will be safe and…

Dear Brother Obama,You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade…

It isn’t often that you get to choose where to watch history in the making, but Election Night was that rare event that you could pick your perch. I chose Harlem as my perch. I don’t live there, but I work there once a week, tending to the cheese program at a wine bar—yes, a…

Black people aren’t the only ones worried about embarrassing themselves now that Obama is president-elect. Here are a few pointers for white people. 1. Don’t personally congratulate all your black friends. Black people are not a sports team, and Obama did not win the Super Bowl. 2. Don’t declare that you “never thought you’d see…

Richmond, Va.: Virginia simply wasn’t ready. Voting rights watchdogs have been warning since the primaries that the state was going to have problems if it didn’t boost the resources available—and distribute them properly. The polls hadn’t even opened when that warning came crashing into reality: at least two precincts couldn’t even get the voting started…

There’s been an e-mail going around advising black folks on unacceptable behavior now that Obama has won. We at The Root thought we’d add a few tips of our own. 1. No Negro spirituals or quotes from Dr. King. John Hope Franklin can get away with this. The rest of us cannot. 2. Don’t go…

READ MORE VOTER STORIES Pat Bates Los Angeles I grew up with a picture of my great-grandfather, Fred Grigsby, casting his first vote. I never knew exactly when it was taken, but the image captures a powerful moment in history. In it, Granddad has on a suit, a tie and a hat. He was so…

It’s amazing to think that, in the closing weeks of this election, the once solidly Republican state of Virginia has moved squarely into Barack Obama’s column. Obama has made sure to do little to rock the boat, and his army of backers has been coached to stay on message lest the red-staters who have come…

John McCain and his Republican henchmen may be down in the polls, but don’t count them out of the election. The Republican Party has been intimidating voters and fostering chaos at the polls for decades, and in the Bush years electoral dirty tricks have become indispensable elements of GOP campaign strategy. So here are the…

I remember the day in January 1981 when the Americans held hostage in Iran arrived at Andrews Air Force Base. I sat on a school bus, waiting for what seemed like years, as heightened security slowed our entry onto the base. I remember the yellow ribbon tied to the antenna of my dad’s car and…