Yes, We Can!

Now, I know that an American presidential election doesn’t directly impact the arts funding of our Canadian government, but with the Barak Obama stepping into the White House I feel that his presence won’t be felt as largely in the tangible results in the world economy and policies in the coming years as it will be in the inspirational impact with the people of the world.

Michael is my 8-year-old cousin from Queens, NY that is officially the youngest struggling artist in our family. His aspirations are in the arts, specifically in theatre, and similar to many of the students in our "Outside The Box" workshops he carries the burden of living in a low-income community. So when I heard his view on the election I immediately thought about our kids.

I called his mother Wednesday morning and listened to her jubilant voice reinforce just how much this U.S. Election had given her hope. Chistine, his mother, told me about a conversation that her and Michael had that morning where she asked him what it meant that a black man had been elected President of the United States and he proudly responded, “It means I can be anything that I want!” I realized how Barak Obama's childhood mirrors so many children across North America that his accomplishment has taught kids to dream again.

If all the children in low-income areas on the planet (including Parkdale) of all colours, creed and race around the world have been impacted to the same degree as my cousin Michael then the historic November 4th, 2008 has already evoked that change and self-expression that Obama spoke of in the youth. Programs like "Outside The Box" will be even more necessary in the coming years.


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-Sway