A country like ours, which has endured generations of racial discrimination and hatred, has a complicated relationship with race. Racism and tolerance in America are concepts that cannot be placed into neatly wrapped packages for us to talk about and comprehend.
It seems that everywhere you read, watch or listen, people are hyping Sen. Barack Obama’s election to the presidency as a momentous occasion for America. Countless blogs, journalists and political pundits on television are heralding Obama’s victory as historic, life-changing and a sign of genuine social progress.
But what does having our first African-American president really mean to race relations in America? Obama’s victory is important but it is by no means a milestone. His victory is not a sign that racism has come to an end. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Thomas Friedman for The New York Times wrote shortly after election night that “the Civil War could never truly be said to have ended until America’s white majority actually elected an African-American president.”
Really? The Civil War, a war fought over preserving a Union torn apart by the institution of slavery, can never come to an end unless white America elects an African-American to the highest office of the land? Does the civil rights movement of the 1960s mean nothing? What about the economic and social progress made by racial minorities since then?
Obama’s ascension to the presidency is not merely the means toward racial reconciliation but a result of it. Electing a racial minority as our commander in chief is not the first step to ending racism in America, but one of many steps that have been taken since the earliest history of our country.
We should never forget the accomplishments of the abolitionists who fought to free slaves and end the practice long before the thought of having a non-white president was conceivable. Nor should we forget the countless numbers of immigrants who brave many barriers to come to America to seek a better life for themselves and their families.
What about the millions of Americans today who live peacefully with people from all racial, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds? Do they not deserve any credit? Maybe it’s because they are too numerous to count that we forget them.
I believe that the race factor in this year’s election is exaggerated. The importance of our first black president should be noted but not overstated. Voting for a black man does not mean you are not racist. Voting for McCain does not mean that you are racist.
Most Americans not named Jeremiah Wright should agree that the lives of racial minorities have improved significantly over the years. We are not the same America today as we were 100 or 200 years ago. Though racism is still a problem, we are a far cry from the days when lynching and Jim Crow laws were accepted practices.
Obama won for many reasons not related to race. He is an eloquent and charismatic figure who can inspire genuine optimism in people. He is a Democrat running against an unpopular Republican party. The Democrats successfully associated McCain with George W. Bush, one of the most inept and hated presidents in recent history. The political climate was not on McCain’s side.
And of course, politically, Obama appeals to a resurgent leftist shift in America. Such shifts from conservatism to liberalism are not unusual in our country’s history.
But all this means is that this election was not racially-driven. Elections are about politics and rarely anything else.
While I believe it is unfair to say that Obama’s win fulfills the criteria necessary for racial reconciliation, it can be said that he can be a symbol for what it means to live out the American dream. No single individual can represent the progress made by countless numbers of Americans from the present and past.
When everyday people treat each other with respect and dignity regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or creed, that is how we know social progress has been made. Who we vote for is only a fraction of what we do with our lives.
History should not be confined to one election night. History is being made everyday by those who really represent America: you, I and everyone around us.
Takechi is an opinions columnist and a senior majoring in journalism. Comments can be sent to tim.takechi@whitworthian.com
OPINION: Election is a step towards equality, not an ending
Published: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Updated: Saturday, February 28, 2009
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