Other than a relative or close friend of President Obama and the First Lady, in my mind I can’t imagine who is more proud than I am of his becoming our first African American President (well… those who lived through the civil rights movement are probably ahead of me on the proud thing). Both President and Mrs. Obama inspire and influence me personally. But I am also encouraged by how they will change the way the world looks at African Americans and the way we look at ourselves. Without question, doors will be open for us collectively in ways we never dreamed. It won’t happen overnight, but I believe a shift is already underway.

With that said, African Americans must realize this inevitable change for Black people is not the sole responsibility of Mr. and Mrs Obama. Every move they make does not have to have a direct tie to the African American community. In fact, it would be a mistake if they operated that way.

Of course I am expressing these thoughts after complaints that Michelle Obama did not choose the design of an African American for her Inauguration dress. And to those who are upset about it, I say “Get Over It!” (but I say it with love).

Don’t get me wrong, I get what it would have meant to that Black designer, had he or she been selected to design Michelle Obama’s Inauguration dress… a dress that will be placed in the Smithsonian along side the other First Lady Inaugural dresses. That kind of recognition could have blown up that designer bigger than they probably ever imagined. To see that happen for an African American designer would have made me very happy.

Heck… it would have been nice if Obama’s entire cabinet and staff members were all Black. It would have been touching if Sasha and Malia attended a Black school, the students, teachers, staff…. all Black. It would have been great if only Black bands were hired to play at all of those Inauguration Balls, or if Obama’s Air Force One pilot was black. Furthermore, it would have been wonderful if only Black journalist were allowed to cover the Inuguration for various media outlets (that way they all had to go out and hire Black reporters and videographers and producers).

And if that were the case I think we would perform in all of those positions brilliantly, because we are a brilliant and talented people. But… let me repeat what I know many of you have heard, but refuse to embrace. Barack and Michelle are not just ours. We have to share them with everybody else. Beyond that, it is the responsibility of The President of the United States to represent all people. So as African Americans we should accept what that means. It means Michelle had every right to hire the young Asian-American designer that created the dress she wanted to wear.

It amazes me that we treat our new President and Michelle like they have no desire to relate to or embrace the Black community over a decision about a dress. What about their choice to have Beyonce sing “their song” as they danced at the Inauguration Ball? Or having The Queen of Soul sing “My Country Tis of Thee”? What about having his Kenyan grandmother on the main Inauguration platform along with Dr. Martin Luther Kings relatives? What about having Rev. Joseph Lowery close out the swearing in ceremony with the benediction.

Or for that matter… years before he even thought about becoming President, he made the choice, as a biracial man to embrace his Blackness instead of rejecting it. For example, marrying a brown skinned sister… who in her senior thesis while at Princeton wrote that her time at the school had made her far more aware of her Blackness. As a young couple, they joined a Black church where his children were baptized. Obama worked as community organizer in the Black community instead of taking a corporate job out of law school. He traveled to Africa to learn about his relatives there. The couple puts braids in their daughters hair. And they chose Black people, such as Reggie Love, (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=5606643 ), to be their personal aids, which includes spending lots of time around their children.

And I have to add… how many of us can truly cast the first stone at Michelle when it comes to choosing African American designers? Who made your wedding dress? Who made the outfits your children were baptized in? Their graduation outfits? Your daughters prom dress? What you wore on New Year’s Eve? For that matter, who made that purse you have on your arm?

Again, I sincerely will celebrate each time an African American is selected to play a role in in the Obama Presidency. However, as I said earlier that change Barack campaigned on does not lie solely in the hands of our President or our First Lady when it comes to Black people. But they are the inspiration, the hope, the light at the end of the tunnel we need to make life for Black people in this country better than it has ever been.