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ix Preface Indeed the election of President Barack H. Obama as the forty-fourth pres- ident of the United States of America was a remarkable event and a poi- gnant example for future politicians and leaders of all races. It has been well documented that many African Americans of all ages and classes did not believe that they would ever see an African American elected presi- dent of the United States. The March 2008 cover of Ebony Magazine con- firmed the notion that most blacks questioned if an African American could be elected president. The cover has a picture of Barack Obama with the caption reading, “In Our Lifetime: Are We Really Witnessing the Elec- tion of the Nation’s First Black President?” Initially, I must admit I was a nonbeliever. I did not believe that any African American candidate could raise enough money to finance a presi- dential run. Growing up in a ruby-red state like Alabama and with George C. Wallace as my governor for most of my childhood, I was also not con- vinced an African American candidate could gain enough support from white America to win the U.S. presidency I proudly say I was wrong. It was not until Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses that my doubt subsided and I began to believe an African American had a chance to become the president of the United States. My parents were lifelong Alabamians born in the 1940s, who had witnessed firsthand discrimination and who were doubtful much longer than I was. But as soon as Obama strung together a few primary wins and a groundswell of enthusiasm and support grew across the country, they were all in for Obama. My coauthor of this book, MaCherie Placide, notes that her mother, who was battling diabetes, would not see Barack Obama become president of the United States. However, after observing Barack Obama’s address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, MaCherie stated that her mother was now convinced that he could become