Maryann Reid, the founder of Marry Your Baby Daddy Day (an annual event where 10 unwed couples who already have children together elect to marry) on what the Obama win means to black consciousness...

"I have no more excuses" is what I've been hearing at holiday parties from people who believed the system was designed to prevent black progress. The discussion has gone from talk of race to talk about ourselves and our families. When the president is black, it means so much more than a color; it means a new national consciousness. And I wonder whether attitudes about marriage will change among black couples.
The Obama family represents the dream of so many black men and women: the picturesque wife, husband and children. It is a fantasy that seems far away for some, but Obama's win made it a possibility. What the world, and black Americans, will see now is a model for a healthy couple, a happy union and, dare I say it, a sexy marriage. His win means that we are all expecting more, accepting less.