Is a Black President Ready for America?
by Min. Paul Scott
"Racism will rear it's
ugly head in places in which you would least expect it."
The date is November 5th 2008 and Barack Obama, who has just
been elected president of the United States, heads to the jewelry store to buy
his wife a trinket of appreciation for her support.
He enters the store and the sales person doesn't acknowledge
him. "Well, she must be preoccupied," he thinks as he leaves. He
tries to hail a cab but the driver speeds away, splashing mud on his new suit.
"Poor guy must be in a hurry," Obama rationalizes as he heads into
Denny's to grab a quick bite. After waiting 45 minutes to get a seat, he heads
for the exit, accidentally bumping into an elderly man who mumbles a barely
audible racial epithet. "Hmm, I wonder why that nice gentleman thought
that I was "Nigerian" he ponders as a white family who just arrived
at the restaurant is immediately seated.
While many have posed the question over the last year
whether or not America is ready for Obama, the real question is whether Obama,
with his colorblind message of Peace, Love and Happiness is ready to face the
reality of institutionalized racism still present in America in the upcoming
months.
As the possibility of America's first black president goes
from being a pipe dream to a probability, it is sure to open up the Pandora's
Box of racism that is padlocked in the hearts of even the most liberal minded
white folks. Kinda like the cool white dude who, even though he donates money every
year to the United Negro College Fund, goes ballistic when his daughter brings
her black boyfriend home to dinner for the first time.
"Is Obama, with his colorblind message of Peace, Love and
Happiness ready to face the reality of institutionalized racism?"
(Personally, I'm just waiting for Hillary to drop the N
word, accidentally during the heat of battle.)
Let's face it. A white president is one of the two things
that America holds sacred, with a white Jesus running a close second.
Just because young white kids buy the majority of Snoop Dog
CD's does not mean that their parents are gonna welcome a black resident into
the White House. A black mayor, maybe, or even a black senator but the head of
the free world? Don't be ridiculous!
Some will argue that a black president will upset what they
call the "natural balance of nature," whites on top, blacks on the
bottom. Also, known as the "master/slave" relationship.
The aesthetic beauty, alone, of a black president will
create a sense of empowerment in African Americans, cutting across economic and
social boundaries. How will CEO Bob Whitman react on November 5th if Tyrone
Jackson, who has been vice president for 20 years loudly announces that,
"It's time to make some changes 'round here!" Or when Shawanda who
usually brings him his coffee every morning with a smile tells him that it
ain't in her job description and he should fix it his darn self!
The possibilities boggle the mind.
Even without using race as a platform can the Obama campaign
avoid inspiring a heightened sense of black awareness as an unintended
by-product such as the '84 and '88 Rev. Jesse Jackson campaign which, arguably,
gave energy to a black cultural renaissance courtesy of Spike Lee movies and
Public Enemy rap records? Also, will black Hip Hop artists be able to again use
slogans like "Vote or Die" if Obama gets the Democratic nod without
being charged with promoting "reverse racism" by the talking heads on
Fox News?
"Will the Obama campaign inspire a heightened sense of
black awareness as an unintended by-product?"
One would hope that the Democratic Party would take the Obama candidacy
more seriously than Jackson's, who was dissed at the '88 Democratic Convention.
However, even with Obama in the lead, people are still saying that he would
make a good "vice" president. And I am sure, even though they are
trailing, Clinton and Edward's handlers are giving them the encouraging words,
"come on, John, he's black!"
And we have heard, by now, the whole "Republicans are
secretly backing Obama because they know they can beat him" conspiracy
theory.
You can best believe that racism will rear it's ugly head in
places in which you would least expect it in the upcoming months. I wonder how
many well meaning liberal white folks who are asking if America is ready for a
black president realize how racist that question is in and of itself?
Min. Paul Scott's blog is
nowarningshotsfired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com
​​​​​​​Ann Garrison spoke to Professor Danny Shaw, who speaks fluent Haitian Creole and returned from his last trip to Haiti one month ago.
"Sitting Shiva in South Florida for Our souls/slivers of democracy …" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Politicians and the liberal media cite "voter apathy" as the cause of reduced voter turnout, but the reality is that their devotion to corporate interests over those of the people creates a seeming…
Settler colonialism has caused the destruction of indigenous lands around the world and, as a result, the environment in which we all live. The path forward is an global struggle against these forces.
For Africans in the U.S., anger is an important first step in mentally emancipating themselves from empire and declaring war on it.
