The correspondent may have meant that Obama is half black having been raised in a white household. Obama responded by saying that he never decided to be black (I personally prefer the word black to African-American). He said, "I think if you look African-American in this society, you're treated as an African-American."
Color (race or ethnicity) is an important issue in American elections. As showed a public opinion poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC TV, half of the Americans described relations between races or different ethnic groups in their country as strained. Although three out of ten admitted that they were racially prejudiced, 90% of the surveyed said they were willing to accept a black president.
Perhaps Obama's problem is that he is not "black enough." Last month when he appeared before the Journalists of Color convention attended by 6000 participants, he joked that he was "too black" -though last year, the question was whether he was "black enough."
He tried to face the question with a sort of prattle. But his color has caused controversy among the blacks and the whites. Racists consider a black to be unintelligent and lazy. Obama, however, is the opposite. In addition, the presidential candidate has not establish strong relationships with the Civil Rights Movement. There is certainly a visible jealousy in the way some black leaders deal with him. Pastor Jesse Jackson said he wanted to cut Obama's nuts off after he accused the blacks of laziness, urging them to assume their responsibilities. Andrew Young, ambassador and former mayor of Atlanta, ascertained he would not vote for this immature candidate. Obama had paid the price of the radicalism espoused by Pastor Jeremiah Wright of the Chicago Church, who attacked the whites and supported Lewis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. While Obama distanced himself from Wright's policies, he did not disown him and referred to him as an old man.
Obama's success in the American presidential campaign has made some optimists talk about the "post-racist society." But I do not see this society materialize in the foreseeable future. When a minority integrates in society, its role is assumed by another minority which senses a belittling treatment even if it was not dealt with as an outsider. Perhaps this condition is at the basis of the sensitivities between the blacks and the Jews in America. Together they engaged in the struggle in the Civil Rights Movement. But when the Jews made it to the top, the blacks accused them of abandoning them.
The Americans will not have color blindness soon. There will always be black and white. Obama faced the matter straightforwardly in a touching speech he delivered last March and won new supporters with his honesty. However, he still finds difficulties with the blacks and the whites. Racists in the Ku Klux Klan wish him success in the hope of creating a negative reaction among the whites, which will be beneficial to them.
He once complained of the Americans' isolation or seclusion. He even described people suffering economically in small towns as "bitter, then they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them." The whites were quick to reply. They accused him of arrogance and unfamiliarity with the problems of average citizens, he who has come from Hawaii and studied at Harvard.
As for the blacks, they perceive in this background the reasons that distance Obama from the black atmosphere in the ghettos of large cities where unemployment prevail and crime atmosphere is frightening.
Obama finds it strange that a black is accused of arrogance in dealing with the whites. His wife Michelle and Reverend Joseph Lowery embarked on a voter registration campaign encouraging black voters to vote next November. Even though black symbols criticize Obama, 90% of them will vote for him, as show public opinion polls. Perhaps this is why Obama focuses on mainstream media, i.e. the media of the whites, to the extent that the owners of black media have complained that they are not getting a fair share of electoral publicity.
Asked if he could have gotten as far as he had if he were Muslim, Obama said in the Journalists of Color convention in Chicago, "That's a hypothetical that I don't know how to answer. I will tell you this: The American people are more tolerant and more open-minded than I think a lot of pundits give them credit for."
A presidential candidate is supposed to say such words, but they do not reflect the truth. The American society is plagued with many problems that will not be solved if denied.
*Published in the London-based AL-HAYAT on August 27, 2008. |
