Racial Politics

Ever since Barack Obama has decided to run for the White House, the five-ton elephant in the room when talking about Obama has been his race. Since he announced his candidacy for the White House about a year ago, I’ve had many discussions with many different people about the presidential race, and when mentioning Obama, as is the case when mentioning Hillary Clinton and referring to her gender, the question has been, is the country ready for a black president? Some say yes, and some say no. But everyone has an opinion about the possibility of him becoming the president. \nObama isn’t the first black candidate to run for president. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton each have made unsuccessful runs at the White House. The first African-American to run for president was actually a woman. Her name was Shirley Chisholm, a representative from New York’s 12th district. But Barack is different because he actually has a chance. He is the first black candidate that is attractive enough to middle class, white America, yet appeals to many within the black community. The sentiment among many black people for years has been that if blacks can get a legitimate foot in the door of political opportunity, things will improve for our place in America. But is it as simple as that? \nThis past Thursday I attended Terrence Roberts’ lecture, who was a member of the Little Rock Nine. In a nutshell, one of the things he mentioned was that electing Obama will not change much in America, simply because, as he put it, “this is America.” I agree with him completely. To think Obama’s ascension to the White House will change all that is wrong with the racial dilemma that plagues America is simply ridiculous. \nI would argue that racism is as much an American institution as capitalism or the Constitution. It is truly naive thinking to expect drastic changes simply because the president is black. First, one must realize that the American system is so conservative that anything short of completely changing our government system wouldn’t result in drastic changes. Second, if Obama were to become president and have any success in the White House, he would not necessarily make decisions in the best interests of the black community. Lastly, racism is mental and petty. There are a lot of people who, no matter how much he or she is shown that a particular race they hate is in fact human and worthy of being looked at on their level, they will continue to remain racist and there is nothing one can do about it. Due to that fact, having a black president will not change anything at all. In fact, I feel it will simply give America another reason to sweep its racist issues under the rug and not deal with them.\nI suggest voting for Barack not because he is black, or even voting for Hillary not because she is a woman, but because you actually feel that beyond the issues of race or gender, you believe they can make a difference.