Today the United States of America has a black president. An African-American now stands at the helm of national power, prestige, and the always significant and potent bully pulpit.
So?
Is this that big a deal for you, our country, the world? Some say yes. I say no.
No, because this is the United States, and despite our obvious missteps along the way, our principles are based on equal opportunity for all. True, it took nearly a couple centuries before the prose in the Declaration of Independence was codified in the 1964 Civil Acts Right, but when Lyndon B. Johnson signed that historic legislation, Barack Hussein Obama’s presidency was inevitable, a mere matter of time.
You will accuse me of oversimplification. Perhaps, but my outlook is one that says a woman, minority, or even a muslim, can and will become president – or attain any other position she or he chooses in government or business – simply because this is the United States.
Our challenges lie no longer in race or ethnicity as much as they do in class, money, and attitude. Our democracy has always been, still is, and likely always will be until we fall as all great empires do, run by those of money and statute. Barack Obama was clearly and strongly tied into that network. That is what got him elected. His race was less important than his position in society. The fact that he was not born into this position but rather achieved it, as many other minorities have over the past decades, is prima facie evidence that racial bigotry is no longer sufficiently pervasive or powerful to preclude the rise of talented and gifted individuals.
Ever since Tom Bradley was elected mayor of Los Angeles and nearly won the California gubernatorial race, an African-American president, a woman, an Asian, an anybody, was destined to hold the highest office in the land. Revisionists have now questioned, and some have debunked the long-standing ‘Bradley Effect,’ which says people vow to vote for a minority candidate, but fall prey to inevitable prejudice once in the privacy of the polling booth.
It would be irresponsible to discount that many accomplishments by blacks have been only recently achieved. Using sports, the ultimate meritocracy, as an example, we know about Jackie Robinson’s breaking into professional baseball in 1947. True, that was well before the Civil Rights Act legislation, but it has been only about 20 years (1978) since starting black quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL) were not considered anomalies. Black coaches, however, are fresh on the scene; Tony Dungy became the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl only two years ago (2007).
It is foolish to understate the historical significance of Barack Obama’s accomplishment. It is dangerous, however, to overstate it, lest we fall into the trap of low expectations.
Nearly twenty years ago, a close black colleague and I would go to lunch and chat about things. Race would often surface. He was convinced that a black could never become president. I was equally certain that it would occur well before we died. [See my “Lunch with Ron” series, here, here, here, and here.] I recall Julian Bond and his success on the national scene (being considered for vice president in 1968) and the general progress that was being made so quickly after passage of the Civil Rights Act. Changes may not have happened as quickly or consistently as some would like, but they did transpire in relative short order.
But there were many frustrating battles. In the face of Senator Harry Byrd’s “Massive Resistance” campaign, I chronicled the battle in Fairfax County, Virginia, to integrate its public schools 11 years after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling. Progress undoubtedly seemed very slow – or essentially non-existent -- to many. Yet, as long as a generation or lifetime may seem, each is of little consequence in the grand timeline of history.
A black president?
It is not such a big deal, but, yes, we still have farther to go. Humans always have more to accomplish. We live in a country where citizens often exaggerate our collective strengths and weaknesses. Yet we need these people. One group reminds us of our goodness and vigor, the other prods us to recognize and correct our imperfections.
But for today, let us celebrate this moment and President Obama. Let us not worry about how real or enduring this event is. There will be plenty of time to do that – starting tomorrow.
Fred W. Apelquist, III
Approximately 755 words.
© January 20, 2009
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