Barack as President a nice step, but we still got work to do

Okay, so in my mind it's more or less a foregone conclusion that Barack Hussein Obama will be the next President of these United States of America. That makes me swell with pride. Because for once I can say that my country thought enough of itself to realize that change was very necessary. It makes me proud because, we can notice the catalyst for that change and believe whole-heartedly in ourselves to make that change come about. Barack is merely the figure-head for that change. We are the ones responsible for making the change. Notice that I said nothing about him being Black. While it does matter a great deal that he'll be the first Black American to become president of the US, it really means nothing if we're not actively living out that change that we feel like he can bring. His presidency will be living proof to little Black boys & girls everywehre that, YES THEY CAN be whatever they want to be in life. That's a great thing. But what irks me to death is when I hear Black people saying, "Just wait until Barack gets in office. It'll be our time then." Oh really?!?! Can someone explain to me how this can erase 400 years of oppression, misunderstanding, and self-loathing? Black people, even with Barack as president, we have a LONG way to go. In fact, I just read an article last week where some white supremacist groups are rooting for Obama to become president so those of that ilk can say to themselves, "Okay, enough is enough." So if that's the attitude that they're going to take, we have a long way to go not only as Black people, but as Americans.
My partner, Bruce Leroy, seems to think that Barack could be the Anti-Christ, because he's so appealing. He makes too much sense and he's too perfect for the job. I don't think he's the anti-Christ, and he's far from perfect for the job. But I think for such a time as we're in now, I can't think of a better candidate. He will achieve many great things in office, but one thing that he cannot do is save us from ourselves. We, Black folks, have to take some initiative and responsibility for our own lives. That's when it will be "our time".