The Broken Promise of Post-Racial America
It seems as though we have been talking more about race in America since the Inauguration of the post-racial Obama. Is it his fault and where do we go from here?
First, I don’t blame the president. This was bound to happen and I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
Since President Obama has come into office, it seems that our nation has brought the conversations of race and race relations to the forefront of America. Whether it be from Attorney General Eric Holder or from Supreme Court Justice Nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the outlook of how race is viewed by us has remained visible in light of the Age of Obama and “post-racial America.”
Again, this isn’t a bad thing. However, we have to make sure that we are fair in evaluating race in America from all angles.
Many people understand what the impact that having a new level of diversity within the highest levels of government can bring. With these changes must come a real conversation about the racial progress of all Americans.
For example, one of the discussions during the Holder controversy was the nature of America’s “cowardice” on matters of race, mentioned at a time soon after the first Black president and attorney general took office. We have heard from Judge Sotomayor that a “wise Latina” should be able to bring about better decisions than a White male that, among other things, hadn’t lived through certain life challenges.
In the post-Civil Rights era, is it fair to call out a majority of Americans on race when the dynamics of our culture have brought about different viewpoints on race and race relations?
From our barbershops to our kitchen tables, all Americans must equally give credit to our countrymen for racial progress and hold ourselves accountable for incidents where we continue in failing to meet the bar. Sometimes, that will mean truly forgiving past racial harm when appropriate so that true, long-lasting healing can take place. At other times, that must be having the tough conservations without reservations so that we maximize the evolving social times as much as possible.
President Obama’s leadership was never to make us forget about us in this “post-racial America.” Instead, it was intended to give us the platform to re-evaluate where we were with race in order to have purifying conversations. That doesn’t mean al
