Tariq Nelson

From an article by Marjorie Valbrun

One boy tried three times to put his feelings into words, but he just could not get a full sentence out. On the fourth try, he put his head down on his desk and began to cry. His classmates crowded around to comfort him. Some put their arms around his shoulders; others patted his back.

It’s OK, they gently told him. It’s OK, man.

Tears welled in the eyes of their teacher, a young white man clearly proud of his young charges at this all-black, all-boy, public charter school. The CNN correspondent reporting the story was also visibly moved. I cried, too.

Then this report

Now researchers have documented what they call an Obama effect, showing that a performance gap between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test administered before Mr. Obama’s nomination all but disappeared when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the presidential election.

The inspiring role model that Mr. Obama projected helped blacks overcome anxieties about racial stereotypes that had been shown, in earlier research, to lower the test-taking proficiency of African-Americans, the researchers conclude in a report summarizing their results.

Regardless of what disagreements one may have with Obama, there is no doubt that many boys need a hard working role model with a solid family. We’ll see what happens over the long term, but I am hopeful.

Within these meltdowns we are all experiencing, there is real and powerful possibility. Imagine how that young charter school student, that young black boy who hung his head and cried in front of his classmates, teacher and the CNN viewing audience, must see his future now. Imagine the man he might become.

Filed under: Children's Issues