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“This is a year of completion for me,” e.g. bailey says in the office of Trú Rúts Endeavors, the multidisciplinary arts organization that he runs with his wife, Sha Cage.

His struggle to fit in America is not unlike that of many African immigrants. He attributes his success as an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and producer to this struggle of finding a home away from home.          

bailey who was born in Saclepea, Liberia, is the son of a white Peace Corps volunteer and a Liberian mother. His father, bailey says, “threw a dart, hit Liberia, and that’s where he got stationed." His mother gave birth to him near the end of his father’s second term; and his parents lost touch after his father's return to America.

Editor's Note: This article, while dated, appeared in Mshale's inauguration print edition.

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

These were the words that lingered in my mind. As I listened to our new president Barack Obama deliver his inauguration speech, I held onto every single word as if they were instructional. I took in each deliberate pause and every charged statement. And throughout, I thought to myself, ‘Indeed. This is why we’ve gathered. This is what we’ve chosen. And from this we may move forward.’

 Editor's Note: This article, while dated, appeared in Mshale's inauguration print edition.

Washington, DC– ‘Obama-mania’ and ‘Obama-phoria’ easily describe the atmosphere in Washington DC during the week of President Barack Obama’s Inauguration. 

But after my five-day visit ‘pilgrimage’ seemed most apt to describe the huge presence of attendees of African descent. There were African Americans from Alabama, Louisiana, Illinois, Texas and elsewhere, as well as people from the Caribbean Islands, as well as Africans from all over the US and the continent. 

In his 457 page autobiographical book “Dreams from My Father”, Barack Obama exposes a great mind destined to greatness.

As Shakespeare once wrote in his philosophical discourse – “some (men) are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” To be fair to Barack Hussein Obama, America’s 44th President and the first African American to occupy the White House, he has earned his greatness.

He literally worked his way up from scratch – from a mere statistic to the most powerful man on the face of the earth! Yes, a remarkable young man!

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, and his new administration face a multitude of extraordinary challenges that demand unified, nonpartisan solutions. The soaring unemployment rate, plummeting stock markets, mortgage crisis, and financial sector chaos make the current economic crisis the top concern for the Obama administration. The two unfinished wars are high priorities as well, with Obama promising to withdraw U.S. troops from the war in Iraq within 16 months and shift the emphasis to the Afghanistan conflict.

Like most kids, Rita Apaloo’s daughter has watched her mother closely. She sees enough value in her mother’s monthly African Women Connect meetings to give her parents some advice.

“Dad should start an African Men Connect group,” she told them.

The wisdom of God flows through each of us, including our leaders.  Once this wisdom is realized and activated, problems will begin to diminish.  We need to continually pray that His wisdom is drawn on each and every day by our leaders and by each of us individually.   
If the results we get aren’t answering our problems, we aren’t solving the problem at the level He expects us to operate.   We need to solve issues at a higher level than the problem was originally created.  

One of the multiple ways President Barack Obama’s journey to the White House made history was its ability to awaken a new breed of the American voter: foreign-born U.S. citizens. Before Obama’s candidacy, most of these new Americans – an estimated 15 million strong – shied away from U.S. politics although, like their fellow citizens, they held jobs, ran businesses and contributed to the building of America.

“On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

With these powerful words, President Barack Obama signaled to the millions of people standing before him at his Inauguration, that a change in discourse is coming to America, away from the politics of fear and towards the politics of hope. This renewed promise to pursue genuine solutions to the problems facing the American people must include broad change to our dysfunctional immigration system.

NEW YORK — The buzz filling Blackberrys, busy halls and spacious deal-making rooms in Washington appears to signal that spring arrived early this year for immigrants. In the last week alone, several prominent figures—outgoing President Bush, President Obama, Mexican President Calderón, Los Angeles Cardinal Mahoney, to name a few—have discussed the possibility of comprehensive immigration reform.

Tuesday evening, January 20th, 2009 the air was electric with national pride.  Barack Obama had been sworn in as President of the United States earlier that day and now galas, dances and dinners were honoring the historic event across the country.