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Several days after Barack Obama made history as the nation’s first African-American president-elect, he left home in Chicago flanked by a Secret Service motorcade and embarked on an important domestic mission: He took his two daughters to school and attended a PTA meeting.
 
In Obama’s first days transitioning from a candidate to the nation’s chief executive, Americans last week caught a glimpse of Obama’s immediate family priorities that could translate into social policy initiatives from an Obama administration.
 
It was leadership by example.
 
Last year on Father’s Day, Obama delivered a speech at the Apostolic Church of God on Chicago's South Side where he appealed to black fathers to be more engaged in the lives of their children.
 
And last month, in an exclusive interview with BlackAmericaWeb.com, Obama said: “The question is whether men step up. I hope they do, and I’m going to stay on them about it."
 
In the weeks and months ahead, perhaps Obama won’t need to speak often about his feelings regarding black fathers or deliver major speeches. His actions – taking his daughters to school and meeting with their teachers along with his wife, Michelle – will likely resonate with many black fathers and Americans of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
 
Obama’s broader message is that black Americans should work collectively to help uplift and revitalize black communities block by block and that a foundation for this undertaking starts with black fathers taking personal responsibility and becoming leaders in their neighborhoods.
 
"The fact that the President-elect took his daughters to school and attended a PTA meeting right after the election sends a very clear and strong message to the entire nation that Senator Obama's mantra of personal and familial responsibility is real,” Michelle Bernard, president of the Independent Women’s Voice and a political analyst for MSNBC, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
 
“His (Father's Day) speech presented the nation with a critical message about what manhood in the black community should look like,” Bernard said. “The American public and the black community in particular, can look forward to an administration that takes personal responsibility and child rearing quite seriously.”
 
Last week, in a meeting at the White House with President Bush, Obama visited the Oval Office for the first time, and during the historic transfer of power, Bush said Obama wanted to see the bedrooms where his daughters – seven-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia – will be sleeping. Sasha will be the youngest White House resident since the Kennedy administration.
 
"One of the things President-elect Obama was interested in — after we had our policy discussions — was his little girls. How would they like the White House?" Bush told CNN. "It was interesting to watch him go upstairs, and he wanted to see where his little girls were going to sleep."
 
Inside a black barber shop near Washington, D.C., “Obama for President” signs were still taped to the windows.
 
While young boys waited for haircuts, their fathers talked proudly of a new day for African-Americans. They spoke passionately about “a brother” and fellow black father who they say will help improve the quality of their lives.
 
They spoke of the Obama “swagger,” that confident stride, a posture of leadership they saw while Obama walked with President Bush outside the White House last week.
 
And today, all across America, perhaps there are more black men walking a bit taller, too.