A quarter-century before Barack Hussein Obama was elected as president, he was portrayed by Dennis Rahiim Watson on college campuses across the country. Watson didn’t know the genuine equivalent to his one-man show ― “The First Black President of the United States” ― would become a reality within his lifetime. But he understood the importance of inspiring students to think and act in a manner that could lead them to reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
“It seems like yesterday,” said Watson, a motivational speaker/activist who helped turn out the youth vote for Obama in 2012 and 2008. “The show included a mock press conference with the audience asking the president about domestic and foreign policy. Howard University was one of the first major institutions that brought me on campus. As a result of the response I got there, I’ve spoken at more than 200 universities and been known as ‘The First Black President’ for 30 years.”
A second term for the nation’s 44th president was far from guaranteed during the 2012 campaign. Many observers questioned whether young voters, predicted to play a crucial role, would demonstrate as much energy and participate as they did in 2008. But according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), the turnout for voters aged 18–29 was 50 percent in 2012, the same rate as in 2008
About 60 percent of those young voters supported Obama, and they were especially vital to his victory in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. “If you wipe out the youth vote [in those states], or if you allocate the vote for [Obama and Mitt Romney] 50-50, those states switch from blue to red,” CIRCLE director Peter Levine said in a conference call with reporters. “It’s enough to make Romney the next president.”
Watson said the effort among young voters ― 70 percent of whom had at least some college education ― was “phenomenal. There was a lot of enthusiasm, particularly among White students and Hispanic students,” he said. “There was more enthusiasm in 2008 because Barack was a novelty and George Bush was hated. Now that Barack is a known commodity, people got reserved. But when Romney was chosen, the energy jumped up.”
Energy levels don’t seem to be a problem for Watson, who in addition to making numerous speaking engagements, also serves as chairman of the National Youth and Gang Violence Task Force, as well as president and CEO of the Center for Black Student Achievement. He’s preparing to embark on a 26-city national tour to deliver what he calls “a Barack Obama message” for students of color: “No Excuses ― Think, Talk, Dress and Act Like a Winner In a Globally Competitive World.”
Watson is concerned that too many students are taking their studies lightly, viewing their college experience as one big party. He’s concerned that a growing number are engrossed in trivial matters such as celebrity gossip and scandals as opposed to consequential developments in their communities, nation and worldwide. And he’s really concerned about the deteriorating language skills among some students, especially those who hardly can communicate without peppering their comments with curse words.
