The first black man in the White House has succeeded in not only becoming the president of America, but has changed the lives of many black youths all over the world. For generations, figures such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X have been role models for the black community, but now it is Barack Obama who has broken down barriers to become President of arguably the most powerful nation in the world.

Back across the Atlantic, Obama has motivated many teenagers to take part in the Black Boys Can programme at Park High. Orlando, a Year 11 student at Park, spoke to us at length about how he feels ‘proud' and described how, “it’s helped me believe that I can do great things, like he's done’. Many see Obama's success as a challenge to combat racism and the beginning of change. Orlando explains, ‘My grandparents and mum, who were from Jamaica, found it rough when they came over here because of the racism and they found it hard to survive on what they were being paid'.

The past, for many black people has been hard and many have faced difficulties such as the ones Orlando describes. However, now there is living proof that despite prejudice you can follow your dreams. Orlando’s comment that ‘now, the man with the most powerful job in the world is black' sums up the feeling of many students, who are on the Black Boys Can programme. Barack has achieved his greatest dreams, now many youths aspire to do the same; contributing to their communities is only one of many ways Obama has encouraged black youth. The Year 11 says, ‘I want to help the community more. I already coach younger kids to improve in athletics, but I want to do more. It's also made me want to achieve in the sports I do.' The students of the Black Boys Can project all want to achieve in what they enjoy because of who they are and with Barack's influence they know they can.

The Black Boys Can programme is designed to get young black boys motivated and not be pushed into stereotypes due to racism or negative messages from the media. In the words of one student, it’s aimed to ‘motivate us and get the best out of us'. He continued, ‘The games we play and music we listen to are bad influences so they want to give us positive influences.’ The programme was run by teachers at the school and proved very successful in encouraging the teenagers to take an interest in their school work and realise that it is the best way to get to where they want to go. Orlando says he now understands ‘that it’s not luck that helped Obama get to where he is, it’s hard work and the fact he worked hard and got good grades at school – that’s motivated me to do better at school’.

Black Boys Can has benefited the participants in many ways, including teaching students social skills and how to manage our money. All the students involved have really changed their attitudes positively, as Orlando sums up, ‘Before I was just thinking about now, but now I’m thinking about the future!’ At Park High Obama has motivated many students, but in reality his influence is much further reaching, people of all races and ages have benefitted from his charisma and forward thinking and we hope will continue to do so for many years.

Lucy