Well - it happened. Part of me hoped it would; part of me thought it wouldn't and part of me thinks that something will, in the end, prevent it. But, for right now, it has happened. The people of the United States of America have an African-American as president-elect. It took thirty years of lawlessness, Godlessness, and greed to push us over the edge and maybe it was worth it. (I might say here that while the nation celebrates the answer, my home state of North Carolina still mulls over the question.)
And if I may be allowed to intrude on the headiness of the moment, I would like to pose another question. At least as much as we see Barack Obama as black, why don't we see him as white? With one white parent and one black parent, would he not be as much one as the other? The fact is, we don't even consider him to be white. White is not a part of the dialogue. This is not just white America talking, this is the world.
As a son of the south who grew up in the forties and fifties, and a struggling racist myself, I cannot help but think that this is a root of a systemic racial bias grown so deep as to tap into our very DNA. It conjures up images of apartheid South Africa where there was white and then there was everyone else, black, Indian, Asian, whatever. It says that while there maybe inclusion in our daily lives, there is segregation in our souls.
While I do not wish to be someone who brings up problems with out offering possible solutions, I am at a loss to see one here. Except to say that today might be a good first step in the right direction. So, don't mind me. Sing. Dance. Celebrate. Congratulations citizens, you done good.
3 comments:
Richard, I fully agree with what you say here. The best part of our great country is that we have the power of the vote and can vote out and vote in the administration and president we feel is best for all of us.
I fully believe that we will see a change that will be powerful, for us and for the world.
I like your blog. I'll visit often.
Richard, I too grew up in the forties and fifties (in south Arkansas). I remember the Little Rock riots and Gov. Faubus closing the LR schools due to integration. Some of those displaced students came to live with their grandparents in my town. A year or so before I entered college, James Merdith enrolled at the Univ of Mississippi. It was a crazy time but the world has come a long way.
I think this election is historic. It will be interesting to see what direction Mr. Obama takes us in.
I enjoy your blog and will check in often.
Sam
A sadly honest essay on something that most of us, with the best intentions in the world, have yet to acknowledge. My father was born in the 19th C. in Tennessee and threw a real fit once when I told him about a city-wide meeting I had attended as part of a school project, and was seated next to a boy my father told me was "high yaller." Thanks to his determination to see me properly educated, I'd been sent to a Quaker school. The Quaker viewpoint prevailed, but I knew better than to admit any more of our social studies activities at the dinner table.
One thing is certain, these problems can't be solved at all except slowly enough to make the solutions part of our very beings, not just our minds.
Thank you for such a thoughtful piece. I'll be back to your blog.
Joan
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