A new book attempts to dig beneath the euphoria that swept black America when Barack Obama became president to ask the question: what, if anything, actually changed?

Family Affair: What it Means to be African American Today” is a collection of short, autobiographical essays in which 76 black professionals detail how their families played a role in their success, either as springboards, or barriers to be overcome.

It’s one of a slew of books published since the November election in which authors examine the changes in U.S. society that allowed Obama, the first African American president, to run successfully.

In essay after essay in “Family Affair”, the short answer to the ‘what changed?’ question comes through: Everything and nothing.

Here is a link to the entire review:
Book Spotlight – Family Affair

I was at Minority Development Workshop where Donna Nelson presented the results of her report “A National Analysis of Diversity in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research Universities”. The data (US) is pretty grim: “Progress for female and minority faculty at research universities, produced from past attempted solutions combined, has been too slow. If significant progress is to be made within the next couple of decades, new and totally different approaches to solving problems facing women and minority faculty will be needed.” The report made a huge impact on me. Being a corporate type I always thought universities were more hospitable to qualified women (after all, in 1975 I knew a university professor who wore saris to work and one who took her baby to office). The report also finds that many qualified faculty women opt to drop out or settle for a lower position (very few deans for instance). After a while it is “just too much of an uphill grind”, “not worth it” etc. I see this with social entrepreneurs too – it results from having inadequate informal support infrastructure. Support can come from Networking- There are two networking strategies :
1- “Blending In” is being like the majority; socializing in their playgrounds – it gives you access to influential colleagues, you understand the rules of the game – it often feels like hard work.
2-”Sticking Together” – stay close to family, race, community; gives you stress relief, builds social support and strengthens you- it can be a time sink
The key to successful networking is to explicitly adopt both strategies, to be aware of their powers and pitfalls and employ as needed in your situation. As I listened to Donna’s talk I realised that in my corporate life – I followed the “blending in” strategy (no community) and now in my university life I follow the “sticking together” strategy (community of social entrepreneurs). I can see how I could have done better with a more explicit understanding of this system – I have always hated networking (time sink, too much work, no fun etc.) and now I understand why.
How do you network ?

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The recent election was remarkable and historic and one that will be remembered for many years to come; not only because of the incredible turn-out of young people, with 23 million young Americans under the age of 30 voting, a turn-out this country hasn’t seen since the 70s, but also because it was an election that was felt around the world.

On the night of the election results, people could be seen dancing, crying, and celebrating all over the world, from the homeland of Obama’s father, Kenya, to countries that had zero obvious connections whatsoever to the election.

No connection except for the fact that Obama in office means better foreign relations, better foreign diplomacy and more intelligent and informed decisions. At home, many Americans were proud to be called Americans again, Facebook status messages erupted with relief and jubilation, and newscasters predicted a surge in patriotism.

And it was an election to which the whole world reacted and rejoiced. French President Sarkozy wrote that the election outcome “resonates well beyond your borders.” Former German ambassador to the US, Wolfgang Ischinger, declared that, “a new face offers Europe a new chance to remarry America.” Peru’s prime minister, Yehude Simon, emphasized that the Obama win was a win for many, stating, “Peru wins with the change; it’s a change that we all expected. God help us.”   “Even Iraqi President Jalal Talabani publicly congratulated Obama on his win and stated that he looked “forward to the relations between our two countries under your mandate, and further consolidation and development in all fields.”

Maybe this will mean that fewer American travelers will feel they have to have the Canadian flag sewn on to their backpacks for fear of being identified as American and therefore “underappreciated”.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

- Barack Obama, President-Elect, The United States of America

Yes We Can � Understand that, this is not just about America � In fact, in today’s world, we need to understand that, as humans around the world, we are all connected.

We need to inspire each other to be our best, stand taller, take the high road, demonstrate kindness to each other as we face the future with renewed hope, commitment to each other and the knowledge that each of us faces unlimited possibilities for our future and the future of the world � YES WE CAN!

Unless you’ve been hibernating or in a state of suspended animation for the last 18 months, you probably know that this Tuesday, November 4th, is Election Day.

Obama/Biden supporters will tell you their candidate is the best to lead the country out of its current crisis. McCain/Palen supporters will tell you that’s nonsense: their candidate is the best choice. Maybe you agree with one or the other, maybe you’re not sure. Maybe you disagree with both.

There’s only one terrible mistake you can make on Election Day: That’s to not exercise your right to vote.

If you are a US citizen over 18 years of age, you have both the ability and the right and the responsibility to participate in the political process and vote. There are very few countries in the world where all adults, regardless of gender, race, ethnic background, or political alliance have the right to participate freely in the process of electing our leaders.

For women, it’s only in the last 88 years that we’ve had the right to vote across all of the United States. Women of color have only had federal protection for the right to vote since the 1960′s. Many men and women fought long and hard for this and yet too often we take this right for granted.

This year we’ve got a high profile, history-making presidential race, which will result in either the election of the country’s first African-American president or the first female Vice President. But that’s not all that’s important. There are congressional races, state races, local races, and, in California, importantly, there are state propositions.

Not only do you have the right to cast your vote for elected officials, this year you have the opportunity to weigh in on a whole range of ballot initiatives ranging from prison reform to alternative energy, to preserving abortion rights, and maintaining the rights of all people to marry whom they choose.

It looks like some of these initiatives may be quite close. We won’t know the answer until all the votes are counted. Make sure that when the polls close, your vote is included.