The election of Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrat from Illinois whose father was Kenyan, may change Americans’ image of leadership, writes Rosetta Thurman on her Perspectives from the Pipeline blog.

Calling herself “awestruck” at American voters’ choice, Ms. Thurman, who is black, writes, “Will we begin to see more corporate and nonprofit CEOs and political leaders of color?”

On a personal note, Ms. Thurman, who says she voted for Mr. Obama, writes that his ascendancy has helped to heal her own wounds caused by racism, including a childhood spent in the housing projects of Cleveland.

“For 25 years, I have worn my race like a condition to be overcome, rather than something to be celebrated and appreciated by the mainstream culture,” she writes. “I knew I had to get the right credentials, and be “articulate” in every setting so I could get ahead without anybody noticing I was a Negro. Today all of that has changed.”

She concludes, “Barack Obama is the right leader for America at the right time in our history. And I am ready to work with his leadership in the new administration to create the world as it should be in our communities.”