African Americans Voting For Obama: We Can Never Know

As a woman, the prospect of voting for the first female president this year was very exciting. I'm sorry that is not a choice I have this election, but I love Obama and I'm thrilled to vote for him.

Still, as I watch record numbers of African-Americans and other people of color vote for Obama, I realize as a white person, I can never know how important this is for them, what it will feel like, what emotions it will give rise to. The amazing numbers of new voters turning out (and especially those of color), give you a hint how revolutionary this is. If this election is "about race" as many pundits have tried to suggest or avoid suggesting, it is surely about race in this best sense, that people of color finally have a candidate that looks like them -- it matters.