Like it or not, America is still concerned with race when it comes to President Barack Obama. The nation’s first African American president was recently asked whether being black has affected his ability to govern in Parade Magazine.
STORY: Barack Keeps It 100! “I’m Not The President Of Black America”
Earlier this year, in an interview with Black Enterprise Magazine, Obama was quoted:
“I want all Americans to have opportunity. I’m not the president of black America. I’m the president of the United States of America…”
Now in a new interview in Parade Magazine, Obama was asked again about his skin color:
If you were female, we would ask, “How has being female affected your ability to govern?” So, how has being black affected your ability to govern?
PO: I’m sure it makes me more determined in assuring that everybody’s getting a fair shot—in the same way that being a father of two daughters makes me want to make sure that every woman is getting equal pay for equal work, ’cause I don’t want my daughters treated differently than somebody else’s sons.
By virtue of being African-American, I’m attuned to how throughout this country’s history there have been times when folks have been locked out of opportunity, and because of the hard work of people of all races, slowly those doors opened to more and more people.
Equal opportunity doesn’t just happen on its own; it happens because we’re vigilant about it. But part of this is not just because we’re African-American—it’s also because Michelle and I were born into pretty modest means.
And so I think about my single mom and what it was like to go to school and work at the same time. And I think about Michelle’s dad, who had a disability and was working every day and didn’t have a lot of money to spare.
But somehow our parents or grandparents were able to give us these opportunities partly because they lived in a society that said that was important.
And as president, I want to affirm that that’s important and reject the idea that if we just reward those at the top, that somehow that’s going to work for everybody—’cause that hasn’t been how America got built.
Race is always a topic that will get people talking – especially when it comes to President Obama.
SOURCE: Parade Magazine
