The Color of the Future, by Marj Kyriopoulos

The inauguration of President elect Barack Obama has a personal meaning for me.

I am a single mother (now grandmother) who raised two children in the midst of a recession that followed another unnecessary war—the war in Vietnam. I have been an Obama supporter from the moment he announced his candidacy in Springfield, IL and each day, I see a piece of the change Obama has inspired.

As a child, I grew up in a ‘big, fat, Greek family’ in the middle of Salt Lake City, Utah. The discrimination I experienced growing up Greek gave me a glimpse of what it must be like to grow up in this country as an African American. For me, it was the color of my hair that made me different—not the color of my skin.

In 1997, my son joined the Peace Corps. He was sent to Banikoara, West Africa, where he worked on a reforestation project that continues to this day. He also fell in love with a beautiful young woman, Azarath, who was born in a nearby village. Eventually, they were married. My grandson, James, who is now five years old, was born in West Africa. During long-distance conversations with my son, he remarked that James is “the color of the future.”

That phrase stuck with me. I googled the phrase and discovered a book written by Farai Chideya in 2000, who refers to the "Millennium Generation" of blacks, whites, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, mixed-race persons and others, both native- and foreign-born, who are “…more likely to interact with people of other races and backgrounds than other generations."

The inauguration is not just personal for me. It is personal for my family. James and his mother jumped for joy while watching TV in Minnesota on election night while my son was in Washington DC interviewing for a job. Change is in the air. People see my son and his African wife differently now, my grandson is very aware that he is “brown,” like Barack Obama, and my daughter-in-law is energized and proud to become an American citizen. Her citizenship interview is scheduled for next month.

The inauguration is so personal for my son’s family that they decided to travel to Washington DC by train, just to be near this historical event. James tells all his friends at school that he is going to President Obama’s inauguration. If I could give my grandson a gift he would remember for the rest of his life, it would be a ticket to the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, a man who is also the “color of the future.”