Why Is Black History Segregated?

Does a dedicated month stifle integration of our contributions in all aspects of U.S. society?

Poverty On College Campuses

From homelessness to food insecurity, college students are increasingly becoming the hidden face of poverty

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Black leaders provide their wish list

How Tobacco Companies Are Killing Our Black Teens

Here's what we can do to help

Rape on Campus

One in five female students has been sexually assaulted

Racists Let Loose After Obama's Reelection

Computer screens are the new white hoods as folks take to the web to trash the president

Where Were You?

Will you ever forget the moment President Obama was reelected?

History is littered with terrible “Where were you?” moments: There’s the moment you found out Tupac had been shot (in my room, listening to my boom box), when you watched O.J. flee the police in a white Bronco (in my auntie’s front room), and, of course, when the first tower was hit on 9/11 (in my dorm room at Howard University, getting ready for class). But we don’t get many positive ones.

So when, at 11:12 p.m. on Tuesday night, MSNBC called the election for my president, I was beside myself, much as I was four years ago. This time, I was blessed to share it with my 16-month-old daughter, who, like her mother, was too wound up to sleep.

[READ MORE: "The Best is Yet to Come"]

It wasn’t just that the guy I was rooting for won, or that the other guy lost. It’s the fact that, despite having voted in every presidential election since 2000, this president is the first one I’ve ever felt was mine. And it’s not, contrary to what conservatives will have you think, because of his skin color. Sure, I love that he’s black; I’d be a liar if I said any different. But the deeper truth of it is, I appreciate the significance of his ascendency in a country where, in my father’s lifetime, people who looked like us where unable to exercise the rights granted to them by the 15th Amendment.

The real reason I was screaming like a maniac is that I knew President Barack Obama would continue to fight for everyone, even those who were angriest about his reelection. There would be no 47 percent left to fend for itself, no class warfare waged to shut out those who didn’t support his candidacy. When he said, during his acceptance speech, “We are an American family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people,” I felt it keenly. Whether or not you think of yourself as patriotic, it’s hard to argue with that notion when you only have to look around to see the impact of the recession.

[READ MORE: What to Expect if Barack Obama is Re-Elected Nov. 6]

That feeling of solidarity is the root of why I didn’t vote for He Who Must Not Be Named. To me, he represented an idea that’s scarier than any tax cut or global warming denial. It’s the notion that self-interest is everything, that taking care of each other is a bad thing, and taking away the rights of others is the American way (even if history shows us that it is).

While I’m realistic in my view of what the president can accomplish with a divided Congress and views that don’t always mesh exactly with mine (thumbs down on drilling and drones), I’m hopeful that we’ll be better off in 2016 than we are today. And as big a deal as this week’s win was to me, I hope that when I remind my daughter where she was during that moment one day, it will be old hat her. As a toddler, she has only lived in a world where it’s not just possible for a black man to run the show, but a reality, and that’s the very best thing of all.

Where were YOU when Barack Obama was reelected? How do you feel? Tell us in the comments.

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Barack Obama's Education Grade

What the president has done on education gets high marks.

Pro vs Con: Should We Immunize Our Children?

Two powerful arguments for an issue dividing the nation

The fact that the vaccine schedule has grown in the past 30 years from a recommended 23 doses of 7 vaccines by age six to 69 doses of 16 vaccines is one of the reasons a growing number of informed parents are asking questions about the quality and quantity of the scientific evidence used to support the safety of the vaccine schedule. Questions about the potential adverse effects that increased vaccination in early childhood may be having on healthy brain and immune function is being fueled by the unexplained dramatic increase during the past 30 years in the numbers of children suffering with chronic disease and disability: Today, 1 child in 6 in America is learning disabled, 1 in 9 has asthma, 1 in 88 develops autism, and 1 in 450 becomes diabetic. So many more parents today are questioning doctors about why they need to give their children so many more vaccines to stay healthy. This shift away from unquestioning use of government and physician recommended medical interventions, including use of more vaccines, is being replaced by consumer demand for the right to engage in critical thinking and make choices.

Loop 21: What should parents who are worried about vaccinating their children do?

Snyder (PRO): Avoid going to the Internet for answers, as many sites, while appearing to be authoritative and reliable, are often fronts for ideological anti-vaccine groups. Talk openly with your doctor about your fears and concerns, and ask about where to find additional sources of reliable information. Parents should follow the immunization schedule developed by the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is designed by experts to ensure maximum protection and safety for children at various ages. You can find the schedule online at www.aap.org/immunization.

Fisher (CON): Knowledge is power. Becoming an informed health care consumer is about empowering yourself with information from many different sources so you can make an educated decision about if, when and how frequently your child will be vaccinated. After you have reviewed information about the complications of infectious diseases and the complications of each recommended vaccine, as well as spoken with one or more trusted health care professionals about the benefits and potential risks for your child, you have done all you can do as a parent to make the best decision you can make. NVIC’s downloadable “If You Vaccinate, Ask Eight Questions”   is a quick guide to critical thinking about vaccination to help parents ask doctors questions before vaccination, including how to identify vaccine reaction symptoms.

[ALSO READ: Should Motherhood Be Delayed?]

Loop 21: Are there any groups of children who should NOT be vaccinated according to the recommended schedule? Why or why not?

Snyder (PRO): There are very few contraindications to vaccination. However, there are some children who should not receive certain vaccines. Children who have congenital problems with their immune system should not receive the MMR and chicken pox vaccines. These are weakened live virus vaccines that could potentially cause illness in those who have severely compromised immune systems. Children with these problems are particularly dependent on the rest of us to be properly vaccinated, so they can be protected by herd immunity. Other people who should not receive the live virus vaccines are those on high doses of steroids for certain medical problems, and pregnant women. Children who have had life threatening allergic reactions to a vaccine should not receive that vaccine in the future. This is an extremely rare occurrence.

Fisher (CON): As an informed health care consumer, it is important to fully understand the benefits and risks of use of one or more vaccines for your child before vaccination takes place. Vaccine manufacturers and the CDC list contraindications (reasons to not give a vaccine) and warnings/precautions for use of different vaccines. However, not all doctors are aware of or follow contraindications and precautions to vaccination, which is why parents must be informed and find a doctor they can trust, who will work with them as a compassionate partner in making vaccine decisions that includes taking steps to prevent serious vaccine reactions.

Binders, Malarkey: Funny, But Not Enough to Win This Election

We have to do more than repeat the candidates' catch phrases come Nov. 6

Debating the Truth

From Big Bird to boldfaced lies, the first presidential debate proves we need to educate ourselves during this election cycle.

Does The Occupy Movement Matter?

What has the Occupy Movement done for us lately?