Tuesday, December 2, 2008
What will Obama's presidency mean for race in America?
This is a conversation that has been going on since the beginning of the Obama campaign. We now have the occasion to reflect seriously on both the challenges and promises of Obama's election when it comes to the persistent reality of race and racism in America. Racism is still, of course, alive and well. But what the election does tell us is that the way we think about race in America has forever changed. Perhaps black folks won't be nearly as suspicious about whites, viewing them categorically as merely an extension of a racist past. Perhaps whites might be able, through the gifted leadership of Obama, to see black people as human, embodying the same dreams, hopes, and aspirations as them. Or perhaps, the demons of racism, fear and hatred will reappear, regroup, and react in more insidious ways, invoking the kind of white backlash not seen since the later years of the Civil Rights Movement during the rise of Black consciousness and youth rebellion. What do you think?
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2 comments:
President Barak Obama. The first African-American to hold the highest office in the land. What a dream come true. What this transition will mean to the race issue in America greatly depends on how you understood race in America before November 4, 2008. If you had reasons to be use race as your defense for your own insecurities, then you problem like this transiton very much. On the other hand, if you believed that race reconcilation was necessary for America and the world to realize its God given potential, you are probably excited about this transition. The challenge now is finding creative ways to have these two racial thinking camps brought together in a meaningful conversation toward an effective racial praxis. Can an Obama administration make it possible, yes. But, possibilities must be realized by everyday people, not from the highest office in the land. Go Obama. You are doing your part. Now it is time for us to do our part!
Ain't that the truth. This so compelling. Never before has there been space to bring together these two racial perspectives. The white voice in American society has been so dominant that it is effectively drowned out important marginalized perspectives. That must indeed change in this emerging global society and in the reality of a global, multicultural world. It is truly time to get to work.
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