I've been following the U.S. election race keenly for several months now. I've had my T.V. stuck on CNN, following 'the best political team on television' for hours on end. Even when they're simply repeating themselves, I've been there following the diarrhoea.
With all these hours of political 'experience', you'd expect me to be able to make an unbiased assessment of who I think will make the best American president. But I'm not. What I can say for sure is this- Obama for President!
Now by no means am I saying Obama wouldn't make the best president. However, I'm not saying he would. Issues of economic stability and foreign policy are a tad above my paygrade. So despite my many hours of CNN experience, my choice for president hinges on a single fact- Obama is black.
Does that make me racist? Not at all... just very biased... and for good reason. As a child I remember scrolling through a giant Oxford Dictionary my father had bought in the U.S., which included a pictures of all 41 (at the time) presidents of the U.S.... 41 old, white men. And while it's not their faults that they grew up in a white man's world, it's hard, as a black man, to not look forward to the day when the monopoly would end... and Obama represents the best chance ever of a new beginning.
If I, as a black Jamaican, feel this way about things, one can only imagine how black Americans. While at first Obama's black support did not seem overwhelming, the prospects of his candidacy seems to have captured the black community into submission. He now easily controls the black vote. And it would be a hard case for anyone to make that many or most of these black Americans are NOT racially motivated. It's a sad reality that something as critical as Commander-in-Chief could come down to skin colour. But really, can the black man be blamed?
I wasn't yet born when racial segregation or hate crimes were at their prime. It occurred to me recently that so many persons still alive today grew up in times far worse than these. They know for sure what it's like to truly be a minority. And while racism still exists, the black community has made many strides- involvement in sports, trend setters in entertainment and business, and, of course, in politics. Yet you have to wonder... if things continue to improve, and one day the playing field becomes just about even, will that help us change our thinking? Will there be a need for a television station dedicated to the black community? Will we able to look at black presidential candidates and completely ignore their colour? Don't we run the risk of becoming the instigators, perpetuating the divide, and being the true racists? Could we be shifting the sand rather than leveling it?
With all that said, a black president is nothing less than a step in the right director. Let's just hope that one day, as black people, we can consider the debt to be paid and all live like one people.
4 comments:
The thing with us black folk is that we tend to speak out of both sides of our mouth, at the same time that we want the unity of one ppl, we highlight the racial divide, be it as you said with a television station or award shows for blacks...
OR maybe after years of slavery and segregation we have earned the right to 'celebrate'!!!
I won't get into how disheartened I am to read this post. Lets just say I loathe the very fact that anyone would vote on anyone because of their skin colour. You mentioned not once the fact that the man is intelligent and capable, and though I know YOU already have that in your head, I know there are people voting on the man who couldn't care less if he had a brain. He's black and that's good enough for them. And that's just sad.
That said, I WOULD vote for Obama. But my vote would have nothing to do with his sex or his skin.
i've always wondered about this. We as black people say we hate racism, but to look at a white person and SEE white and let that determine a decision u make, makes u racist as well. There may come a day, when a white child starts to wonder why they can't have a month to remember their great ancestry and i know some black people will think "no cause u haven't suffered like we have", but how many of us have actually suffered? Our ancestors did, some still are suffering but when will we all be free from the hurt and accept EVERYONE.
I'm happy for this election b/c we will have someone lobbying for a big change, a woman or a black man, either way a statement has been made.
To be honest though, Rae, I think in this election both Democrats are highly capable, and so the deciding factor ends up being colour. Like I mentioned, it's a sad thing, but there's an undeniable history behind it all.
Like you, I too think Barack is the best candidate (colour ignored). And let's be fair though- other black men have run for the presidency and failed. The public was not as captured by them as they are by Obama... and right now he's capturing everybody, even across the racial divide.
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