Jordan Farmer will be a senior this fall at Baltimore Freedom Academy and, after graduation, plans on a life of entrepreneurship. He can see "CEO" on the horizon.
In his mind, some of the barriers to his success have fallen now that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has done what no African-American has done before: apparently secured a major-party nomination for the nation's highest office.
"White people still think that black people are ... inferior to them. But if one runs the country, how can you still think that?" said the 16-year-old from West Baltimore. "If he becomes the president, I can't imagine that there'll be racism."
Since the beginning of his campaign for the presidency, Obama's rise to prominence has been met with myriad emotions, particularly in the black community. Many who are old enough to remember a time when Obama's skin color would have held him back find themselves moved, inspired and in some cases, surprised, by how far the country has come.
Younger ones, without the historical perspective of their parents and grandparents, find it less surprising and wonder what it means for their futures.
Sitting in a conference room at the Freedom Academy, an independent public high school created five years ago by a group of idealists for families in a majority-black city struggling to educate its children, a group of outspoken teens discussed what the nomination means to them. Their opinions ran the gamut: Some, like Farmer, see Obama's victory as a boon for race relations, and others hope it will translate into more public money for schools and more black youths drawn to public service and professional careers.
Others weren't so sure it would solve all the country's problems.
"Racism isn't going to be eradicated just because a black man is president," said Winston English, 17, of East Baltimore - taking a break from final exams with several classmates, all of whom were neatly dressed in the school's uniform of collared shirts and khaki bottoms.
The Freedom Academy, which houses 280 students in unused space at Lombard Middle School in East Baltimore, sits in a neighborhood of rowhouses a block's walk from an adult movie theater and a bustling strip of trendy Latin American restaurants. Nearby, the growing Harbor East neighborhood attracts Whole Foods shoppers and wine enthusiasts.
