Obamamenon

“I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama,” said former president Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this past summer, after former First Lady Michelle Obama gave an energizing speech encouraging the in-person crowd and viewers at home to “do something!” The former president’s remark was one of the more humorous parts of the convention, but the Obamas’ appearances at the DNC were meant to uplift American voters and convince them to put their faith behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden exited the race in July. The pair remain integral parts of modern American politics, even after Barack Obama left office in 2016. However, we need to recognize that while the Obamas are cherished parts of American history, they are also symbolic of a long movement for wider minority representation in government.

During his eight years as president, Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act for more affordable health insurance, added over 15 million jobs to pull the country out of the most significant economic recession since the Great Depression, and worked to prevent nuclear war in Iran. Additionally, Michelle Obama transformed school lunches to be more nutritious, supported veteran families, and began an initiative to provide greater access to higher education to girls across the world. The Obamas are an inspiration to young people of color worldwide and a prime example of how hard work and dedication, even in the face of insurmountable odds, can have a positive impact on the world. 

And, former president Donald Trump hates this. In fact, Michelle Obama’s DNC speech explains it best: “[Trump’s] limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.” Regardless of the wonderful changes the Obamas made to improve the country, people like Trump are unable to conceptualize that people of color have the ability to innovate in positions of leadership. He has frequently used race to minimize the existence of people of color in the country; at the presidential debate in September, he commented that Haitian migrants in Ohio were “eating the dogs, [...] eating the cats, [...] eating the pets of the people that live there.”

I urge voters and high school students alike to remember that this is who we could elect for another four years—someone who would automatically disregard the opinions of most of our school’s population, someone who prioritizes personality over policy even though his personality includes justifying multiple felony convictions among other atrocities. Trump has discounted the obstacles that people of color have had to overcome, even going as far to equalize his experiences being indicted with the oppression that Black people have historically faced. At the Black Conservative Federation’s annual gala in February, he said “that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against.” 

However, I hope that the Obamamenon will happen—an “invasion” of minority groups into the highest echelons of government. We need a greater variety of voices in politics to create an accurate representation of our country’s diverse makeup and enact policies that are beneficial for more demographics. I hope that our country can grow to value the opinions and knowledge of all people, regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, and background, just like the Obamas have advocated for and enacted policies to pursue. I hope that young people of color—both inside and outside of Stuyvesant High School—can feel that their political opinions matter and are encouraged to share said opinions with others. Most importantly, I hope that voters can judge Harris for her time as vice president and for her proposed policies instead of for her ethnic makeup and the fact that she’s a woman.

In some ways, Obamamenon has already begun. Within the 118th Congress, 25 percent of its members have roots in minority ethnicities, including Black, Hispanic, Native American, Indian, and Asian-American. 80 years ago, only one percent of Congress was made of minority ethnicities. Additionally, 153 members of the national legislature identify as female. Representative Becca Balint (D-VT) became the first openly gay woman elected to Congress in 2022, and now 13 members of Congress identify as LGBTQ+. There are 18 immigrants in Congress, including Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), who was born in Japan. Although these demographics aren’t necessarily representative of our incredibly diverse country, change doesn’t happen overnight, and this is just the beginning.

The majority of our school comes from minority groups, and we need to use our voices to elect politicians who look like us, understand us, and care about us instead of their self-interested agendas. As high school students, we can’t all necessarily use our vote to forward the Obamamenon and elect a diverse government. However, we can do a lot of other things to be politically knowledgeable and open-minded individuals so that when it soon comes time for us to vote we are prepared. We can stay updated on major policies and court rulings that are being passed right now so that in the future, we can reference these moments and use them to build a better future. Our school gives us access to a variety of news sources through our emails, including The New York Times and various academic journals. In Manhattan, we have the unique opportunity to take a short trip to City Hall or the United Nations Headquarters and have a front row seat to history in the making. We can watch debates, interviews, town halls, and rallies to form our own political views in order to have positive discussions with others about these legislative actions that affect our daily lives. And during these conversations, we can have open minds about what other people believe; we can validate their opinions; and most importantly, we can learn from what they have to say.

The Obamamenon is possible, as we’ve seen in small increments. It’s impossible to delay complementing our nation’s increasingly diverse ethnic and cultural makeup with an equally diverse political society, so we should stop trying to do so and instead help advance it. I believe that the hard work and dedication to a diverse and safe future that the Obamas and Vice President Harris work for on a daily basis can come to fruition. I believe future generations of Americans will see a wide variety of faces in their leaders, and I hope that these leaders aren’t met with negativity and racial superiority like Trump has launched at minority politicians in the past. Above all, I hope that young people of color can be “stupid and courageous enough” to speak after Michelle Obama, follow in her footsteps, and voice their opinions.