Posted: Wed 05 Nov 2008 14:26 Post subject: Obama, black America, and post-racialism....
I just saw Tavis Smiley on MSNBC, and I noticed a disconnect between the white progressives chirping about how America is moving beyond race, yet people like Tavis still view race as a huge social issue. Its very clear that Obama is a very different minority politician than Sharpton and Jackson. Obama never made race an issue in his campaign except for a few speeches where race came up.
I have noticed that younger blacks, blacks under 30 years of age, have embraced post-racialism. Minorities and whites in our generation have grown up with Tiger Woods and Mariah Carey, famous people with extremely blended racial heritages, or people like Jessica Alba, Eve Langoria (sp?) or Wentworth Miller whose racial heritages are almost complete mysteries.
Now we have Barak Obama, the president of the United States, who had a white mother, a Kenyan father, an Asian stepfather, a black wife, and a Hapa sister. Could have Obama won if he was raised like a typical black American, and wasn't the son of an immigrant from Africa and a white woman from Kansas? Let's face it, Obama's black heritage is not the heritage of slavery, and it could be argued that it isn't the black heritage of the civil rights movement either. Its the black heritage of late 20th century African immigration. A true African American as it were, who can actually talk and touch his direct African ancestors, thus not burdened by the cultural disconnect that a lot of black Americans feel.
Could it be that Obama is more acceptable to mainstream America because of his obvious interracial heritage? In an era with so many mixed race superstars, is it any surprise that Obama became a star almost overnight? I'm already hearing echos of "the Tiger Woods of politics".
Another interracial American knocking down barriers it seems....
Make no mistake, I am elated by Obama's nomination, and only good things can come from this election. However, Obama is clearly a culturally interracial individual. Part of his success comes from his interracial upbringing, part of his broad-based appeal comes from his interracial heritage. Touting this man as a "black man" isn't doing this event its true service, and my biggest fear is that white America will hold this victory up as a carrot as to why race-based programs must be dismantled.
Yeah I agree for the most part, except for "only good things" can come of this type talk. We won't know what will hapen until he is in office and actually performing. Bush handed him a pretty crappy slate, one that no one wants to touch. In the end we will know if he ran out of ambition (to get on the history books) or if he ran because he really cared.
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