Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has achieved so many respectable things that have garnered him the support of millions of people. He graduated in the top percentile at Harvard Law School, he forfeited a lucrative job with a prestigious firm to advocate for the underserved, and he also worked his way up the political ladder from a grassroots leader to become a senator in the United States Senate. Barack Obama even married the woman of his dreams, fathered two beautiful daughters and is the epitome of what America is supposed to represent.
However, with all that he has accomplished, there’s one element of Obama that many people still can’t accept: his race.
Given Obama’s professional expertise and personal success there are still people — in the year 2008 — who feel that he’s not “qualified” to be president of the United States. Sadly, many of these people are not considering his skill set when determining his qualifications, rather they’re looking at his color. What their “qualified” really means is that Obama “isn’t good enough” to be president.
Unfortunately Obama’s ethnicity is a major factor on the minds of many non-minorities. Perhaps it’s because some whites haven’t encountered a Black man of Obama’s caliber, perhaps it’s mainstream media’s misrepresentation of Black men in general, or maybe it’s because some feel Blacks haven’t done an effective job of positively representing our race. Despite the reason, Obama’s race is a problem for some Americans. If it weren’t there wouldn’t be conservative groups such as Chaffey Community Republican Women who mock Obama by placing his picture on a food stamp with a bucket of chicken, spare ribs, and Kool-Aid. Such disturbing antics by party loyalists show exactly how prejudiced the United States still is — 143 years after the end of slavery.
Another indicator that shows Obama’s mixed heritage is a problem for many is the overt support of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. I’m in complete favor of one’s individual choice and I respect the fact that people vote for candidates based off their personal beliefs, but when considering one’s support of Sarah Palin, I’m left scratching my head. John McCain is a respectable candidate in his own right, but Sarah Palin?
The role of the vice president is to be prepared to be president in the event that the elected president is unable to serve — be it some sort of illness or even death. When Americans would rather see an inexperienced person such as Palin potentially become president of the United States over Barack Obama — that’s scary. It also speaks to the risks some in this country would rather take than to elect a Black man. How devastatingly unfortunate.
Though I’m a proud supporter of Barack Obama, I chose to support him based on his qualifications and skill set — not because he’s Black. In my world, right is right and wrong is wrong. In the mid-90s, I was one of the few people I knew who sincerely felt O.J. Simpson was in some way responsible for the death of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Early on, I was also an initial supporter of Hillary Clinton’s primary presidential race. Simply being Black doesn’t constitute my automatic support, rather an individual’s actions and qualifications do. Barack Obama is the best overall person to be elected president at this particular time in our country’s history. His overt compassion, political laissez faire, and his tremendous reputation as a unifier are why he gets my support.
The thing that gives me optimism during the final days of this historic election is knowing that all white people aren’t tainted by racism and prejudice. Obama has millions of supporters who are white — it’s incredibly gratifying to know that they support him based on his character and qualifications, rather than oppose him because of his race. Whenever I see Obama at rallies or speaking to large crowds, I often skim the audience and see the many different races of people present. As I look at the different faces, I can’t help but feel pride; not only because of Obama, but also because of how far this nation has come in regards to social justice and equality.
