The Truth: Now that Obama won does race matter?
As I started to read this week’s Sojourner’s Truth and I turned to the “This Strikes Us”; as I started reading:
By the way, our president is black. President Barack Obama is a black man. In fact, the 44th president of the United States is our first African-American president.
Now we know it’s fashionable for some to insist that they don’t really see a black man as our president, that what they see instead is a president who happens to be a black man.
That’s just total nonsense. It’s also a total denial of one of the most important dynamics of American life for the last several centuries.
I remembered something, so I went back into my archives, December 16, 2007 Keith Wilkowski believes once you get to know Obama he has a lot to offer… where Keith Wilkowski, Miriam Wilson and Fletcher Word were on Doni Miller’s Bridges on WTVG.
Wilkowski said for white voters, black voters, hispanic voters that once people get to know him, he thinks Obama has a lot to offer. Fletcher Word stated that we knew other candidates like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were black organizers first, that candidates like Obama are candidates first then black coincidently.
If Fletcher as the Publisher/Editor wrote this week’s editorial, I think he just called his own former position, nonsense, and if he did not? Whoever wrote it did, not to mention Colin Powell said it too…That was something that was continually driven home, that this wasn’t supposed to be about race, that Obama was more than that, that those that were focusing on the race aspect were wrong. That’s why the crowd yelled, Race doesn’t matter! and Obama stated, time and time again statements similar to this one:
“Race doesn’t matter!” the crowd at Obama’s victory celebration in Columbia chanted last night, and when he spoke, the senator elaborated on the theme. He said his victory disproved those who argue that people “think, act and even vote within the categories that supposedly define us” — that blacks will not vote for a white candidate and vice versa.
“I did not travel around this state and see a white South Carolina or a black South Carolina. I saw South Carolina,” he said. The election, he said, “is not about rich versus poor or young versus old, and it’s not about black versus white. This election is about the past versus the future.”
Many times comments like this from Obama supporters were reported:
“I hope people see that African Americans are standing beside him for who he is, not because he’s African American,” she said after a rally on Thursday. “I’m hoping they’ll see things other than color.”
It’s hard to declare that all nonsense now that he won, because that means all of that being said during the election was not true, that it was really all about race after all…
I don’t dispute the fact that electing a black president creates hope for many that their dreams can come true, that racism can perhaps someday end and that it was historic moment for our nation to have it’s first black president; but I also have to point out that Barack Obama is half white, he was raised by his white grandparents, and his father did not descend from former slaves and was not an African American. He was a citizen of Kenya…So if we are going to raise the specter of race, then we should also raise the specter of the truth of Barack Obama’s heritage. The United States just elected a man who is half black and half white, who if that was the truth that was presented, which is the real truth, places him in a more unique position to create unity since he is not “just black.” Barack Obama is of both cultures, both white and black, that is part of the reason why he is the person he is, it is the personal experience and perspective he brings to our nation. It’s why he faced the irony of being “not black enough” for some and “too black” for others…
Besides my lengthy reaction to this week’s This Strikes Us, there are quite a few more articles that may interest you in this week’s Truth. No column from Jack Ford, but those of you who commented on the Truth not reporting on this story will want to take note of the article on Karyn McConnell Hancock. Ohio Senator Teresa Fedor’s guest piece that was shared here, is also included in this week’s Truth and another story that’s gotten quite a bit of discussion here, related to the Connecting Point is also a focus and a recommended read.
I have archives also and I am so relieved that at last someone is connecting the dots on some of the issues and articles that appear in one of our local Black papers. It is obvious that the author that wrote this article, if it is not the editor, must have had the approval of the editor as it is under his banner “This strikes Us.” Lets just hope that by some high tech slight of hand, it was slipped into the editorial page without the editors knowledge. Now is not the time to continue to one-up the nation on the election of Barack Obama and I am sure that if he were aware of this article he would not approve. It serves no purpose other than a hey look at me do damage control for some of my past statements which have proven to be contradictory, if this is the case.
Is it an attempt to try to appeal to a base that had slipped away? Obama has acknowledged his Blackness according to the historic dictates of the American designation of what a Black man is. A drop of blood. But he has also continually recognized and honored his white mother and grandparents and their contribution to his development. He is a class act whether you voted for him or not. To attempt to grandstand and play the race card in editorials is a divisive and counter productive action whether it is in a White paper or a Black one. Send this editorial to President Obama and see how quickly he will throw the author under the bus. We have a president of mixed heritage that has a great deal of support from all races as many different nationalities applaud his intellect and talents and his ability to bridge vast gaps not only in our race relations but on a world stage in this time of turmoil. But he also has detractors of all races and creeds. To go on and on about little Black girls in the Whitehouse is completely asinine. There is a larger, deeper and more intellectual meaning on what the election of Barack Obama means to the Black community and the nation and it has been expressed beautifully in many papers. “Ya takes ya choice” But then what do I know as I have been barred from writing in these papers
January 25th, 2009 at 9:48 pmBarack only got 43% of the white vote.
Race matters.
What puzzles me about the editorial is this part:
“some of us are pretending that the election of a man with darker skin than that of most Americans is a totally unremarkable event.”
I don’t know anyone who thinks that.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:40 amThat’s based on exit polling, which I don’t find to be that reliable considering it’s past but if we are going to rely on exit polling and we are going to assume it’s been standard for all of the years in question…
Nationally, Obama won 43 percent of the white vote: 46 percent of white women and 41 percent of white men. He ran 12 percentage points behind Republican John McCain with white voters. John Kerry got less of the white vote than Obama, 41% total – 37% men and 44% women, which means Obama got more white votes than John Kerry did. Obama also got more white votes than Al Gore did.
nice blog site that has the comparisons.
I agree with you on the strangeness of that part, I don’t know anyone who thinks that either.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:03 amNow that Obama won does race matter?
Of course it does for those who were taught to look first at skin color. I wonder just how many parents are currently teaching their children to pay attention to melanin levels?
January 26th, 2009 at 10:56 amThe polling numbers show that the majority of whites are R’s, no shock there.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 amI suppose it could be said that anyone who is forgetting that Barack Obama is of both races is doing exactly that. Personally that was one of the disappointing aspects of this presidential contest, that so much focus was on labeling him as “black” when the reality was he was like a good number of Americans who come from a mixed race heritage.
I wondered many times that if had he looked more “white” as many times happens when a child has a parent who is white and one who is black, if there would have been as much of an issue about his race. Historically if the “one drop rule” was applied to previous presidents there are those who feel Obama was not the first black president. He is however the first one who has a darker skin tone and has openly embraced his heritage.
This could lead to an interesting discussion as our nation continues to be one where there are more and more couples who have children of mixed races. Will we one day be a nation where the reason that race no longer matters is because it can be said that we are all part White, part Black, part Native American, part Asian, etc.?
Or will we figure out it before then…
January 26th, 2009 at 11:18 amThat’s true Craig, and the polling numbers also show that more women are Democrats than Men, the only area Obama did worse than Gore was when it came to white women. They supported Gore in just a bit higher ratio than they did Kerry or Obama.
It could also lead to interesting questions being asked as to why so many women continue to support men over women in the Democratic party.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:23 amI think it’s more important that he battles smoking addiction than what race he is.
My children look to him as a role model. They are finally old enough to understand what was going on during election season, and I just hope he can live up to the job.
Without a cigarette in his mouth.
January 26th, 2009 at 12:34 pmWHO REALLY CARES WHAT COLOR OR RELIGION A PERSON IS. ALL I CARE ABOUT IS IF HE IS A GOOD HONEST PERSON AND IF HE IS A LIBERAL. THE CONSERVATIVE MOVEMENT SURE SHOULD BE DEAD ON ARRIVAL AFTER 8 LONG YEARS OF A PERSON WHO WAS SELECTED AND NOT ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE….THIS TIME ALL THE VOTES WERE COUNTED AND WE ELECTED AN OUTSTANDING PRESIDENT. SOMEONE MY GRAND BABIES WILL LOOK UP TO
January 27th, 2009 at 12:36 amummm…Mike?
GW was elected in 2004.
That’s when George assumed that the election was a mandate.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:34 am…just so long as “he” is a liberal?
With THAT on a resume how could you go wrong?
January 27th, 2009 at 8:46 amI’m glad he is a “liberal”. My only hope is he isn’t “too liberal”.
Women’s rights; a real energy policy; fair trade agreements; good.
Tax cuts to those that don’t pay taxes; bad.
We will see how this all plays out.
January 27th, 2009 at 10:36 amright jeff…but we must opt out of all trade agreements.
protection for all union workers
January 27th, 2009 at 1:24 pmI feel like I’ve been transported back in time. I hate to be the one to always state the obvious but there aren’t different ‘races’.
There is only one – the human race. This broad discussion that the world is having about the color of our new Presidents skin belongs back in 1955. And alot further south than Toledo.
Evolve people!!!!! Evolve!!!
January 27th, 2009 at 2:01 pmKATEB….I COULD NOT HAVE SAID BETTER..CONGRATS. WHAT DIFFERANCE DOES RELIGION AND SKIN COLOR HAVE TO DO WITH RUNNING THE COUNTRY….BUSH WAS WHITE AND RAN THE COUNTY INTO THE GROUND WITH HIS OUTDATED CONSERVATIVE IDEAS
January 27th, 2009 at 4:22 pmI have to admit, I find it amazing how Barack has taken nearly every one of GW’s initiatives and reversed almost every single one in one short week.
And already has a 68% favorable. In one week.
Not eight years. One week.
Gives me some excitement as to what the next 205 weeks have in store!
January 27th, 2009 at 5:05 pmTax cuts to those that don’t pay taxes; bad.
Slightly misleading. Even if people don’t owe income taxes, they still pay other taxes (sales, payroll, etc.)
January 27th, 2009 at 5:17 pmI know a guy that made millions working for his family. Recently, he shared with me his Social Security Information page you get three months before your birthday.
For seven years, he was taxed for his income, and I have to admit, reading that page and looking at those numbers was very intimidating.
But the next several years leading up to present times, his income has been 0.
2001: 0
2002: 0
2003: 0
2004: 0
2005: 0
2006: 0
2007: 0
2008: 0
Now, Jeff, how do you offer tax cuts to, let alone tax, someone who has no income?
(shhhh Pink Slip, no help, please)
January 27th, 2009 at 6:18 pm>> right jeff…but we must opt out of all trade agreements.
>>protection for all union workers
Yeah, right. Who said anything about unions or opting out of trade agreements.
These arguments get old. Maybe what the new U.S. administration should do is look for weapons of mass destruction, tap citizens phones, spend billions per month on a useless war, help pay for Wall Street bankers $1,400 garbage cans and let’s not forget about an oil well in everyone’s back yard.
That’s what the white guy’s administration was all about.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:31 amright on jeff…and the two other idiots, mc cain and that bombo from alaska would have continued the war well into the 22nd century. we need out of this meaningless useless war now today not in 16 months
January 28th, 2009 at 9:56 pmsorry lisa….did not mean on calling sara a bimbo, just venting about how the neo-cons in the house stabed obama in the back after he had them over for drinks.at least 244 democrats had the brains on voting yes on this bill, no republicans…screw them, and their god ‘rush limbaugh’…the fat afternoon gas bag
January 28th, 2009 at 10:04 pmHey Mike, ever hear of a cult of personality? You sound like you’re falling for one.
“A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a country’s leader uses mass media to create a heroic public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are often found in dictatorships.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:26 amA cult of personality is similar to general hero worship, except that it is created specifically for political leaders.”
-Sepp wrote:
January 29th, 2009 at 11:29 am