Today marks a triumphant and historical day in the lives of many Americans and citizens around the world. Last night, Senator Barack Obama from Illinois clenched the office for the Presidency of the United States of America. Undoubtedly a major and very emotional experience for many African Americans and people of color, this election cycle has shown us all that the United States is finally displaying the progression that we have so long yearned for.
As I sat and watched the results come in last night one thing that I kept thinking about was this historic, and often ugly, campaign that has plagued us for so many months. I am glad that the issues of race and gender were brought into US mainstream consciousness. Hopefully, this often painful display of the incredible discrimination that is still rampant in US culture will help us continue to have those important, everyday conversations that have led us to such a transformational time in our nation’s history. I anticipate that this will also offer us the opportunity to give sexual minorities the voice that has often been minimized in our political and social systems. With that I leave you with a very special quote:
“This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.”
Although Obama is the first man of color who really has a chance to become President of the United States, I really have a bone to pick with the media and anyone who insists on calling him African American. The overused statement of “Barack Obama is the first African American man to clinch the nomination…” etc etc is a complete misnomer. Barack Obama is, and always has been, a biracial person. If there is any more confusion, just view the picture below.
While I fully appreciate why many folks like to simply label him an African American, this perpetuates the idea of seeing biracial people as racially deficient and atypical. I believe it is strongly due to his experiences as a biracial male that Obama is able to speak so eloquently about race relations, having been apart of both racial in-groups and out-groups. The “one drop theory of blackness” is moot and incredibly and increasingly damaging in our society as more and more people are born multi-racial and dual-identify racially.
Later this month CNN will host a two night series called Black in America. This show, hosted by Soledad O’Brien, will examine the lives of African Americans covering a range of topics including academics, health and family. As part of the special, you can view celebrities and leaders share their opinions about Black culture. I took special note of Whoopi Goldberg’s points about being called “articulate” and in light of Obama’s candidacy for presidency, this is an idea that is just as applicable now. She also discusses her own personal philosophy view of race that I very much agree with. Soledad O’Brien explains the intent behind the special and her hopes that it will garner discussion and provide a lot of questions for all of us to think about.
And, the series also includes an episode about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorating the anniversary of his death. I would definitely encourage you to view the videos on the website and the issues they bring up. You can view the videos here.
