The Nicest Person in America

I arrived at the library with a box of new books for the library, and one of them is the stunning portrait of Obama's life as a child called Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Bryan Collier. Being very familiar with their wonderful work in children's literature, its excellence was not surprising. It was the illuminating messages behind daringly somber content that struck me. The book touches on sensitive issues faced by Lubuto users such as begging to survive and parental abandonment. Naturally, I called an impromptu story time (with the help of a social worker's translations). The book was in high demand for the rest of the day and paged through in large groups.

Tendai took the book after the story time and started chanting "O-BA-MA!":





















Then "Kiss Brown" (formerly known as "The Undertaker") joined him:



















Then more joined, and the chanting continued!:
















Bob is Kenyan and was very proud today. He also happened to be sporting the perfect t-shirt:





















I asked the group for a few comments, and here's what they had to say:

Tendai: Ah, he’s a good president. Every other president is fake.

"Kiss Brown" (aka "The Undertaker"): Obama is the best man of the United States of America. His dream will come true, to improve the United States. Mr. George W. Bush, we will drop him in water.

Joseph: I’m proud because he’s black. He promised that the school fees for courses will be low, so even if you are African, you can go there and do some courses.

Mwamba: I’m very proud. He’s the first black person to be president. No one thought a black man could be president. It makes me feel more accepted by Americans.

Joseph aka "Don Lover": He’s the president!

Jacob: I’m very proud because a long time ago it was not allowed. (translated from nyanja)

Tendai (again): I’m very happy that Obama is president because he’s black and things will change. (translated from nyanja) O-BA-MA! I hope that Obama is also good for free food. Free food! Enjoy!

Gordon: I like him because he’s black.

Enock: Obama is a good president because he can be helping people who need free food.

Junior Augusten: He is very nice.

Tendai: Free maize to eat.

Benson: I like him because he’s black like us.

Steven: Obama, he’s kind. What I see when I look at him is someone who knows how to work with people. He doesn’t have to say, ‘This is a white man” or “This is a black man” because they’re just one, united like the United States.

Thomas: Go and tell George Bush that he’s too ugly.

Tendai: Obama is a good president because he’s a black president, and I’m black.

Steven: There will be no more doubting if we go to America. We can just walk in.

Tendai: Free food for good health.

Levy: If you go back to America, you have to greet him and say that Zambian people love him. We want to finish school, and we don’t know if we can be the president or a doctor or what what. We want to be like Obama, and we are happy he is the president. Tell him the Fountain of Hope greets him.

Gordon: He’s a good person, and I like him so much.

Enock: I am happy because Barack Obama is a good president of America. He doesn’t have a short temper because he likes people. Some people, they don’t like him, but us, we like him.

Michael: Obama, he’s the best president. People, they are proud of him and can’t be jealous. He’s a good person and can help people. We are proud of him! He is the nicest person in America.

It was our celebration of a moment that was perfectly summarized by my Zambian friend, who said, "The whole world is happy today!"