John McWhorter, a black conservative (or I assume since he is affiliated with the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank), wrote this article for Forbes.com. Mr. McWhorter is under the impression racism is now just superstition. His proof: Barack Obama is president.
Mr. McWhorter is out of his damn mind. Either out of his mind, or he knows how to rile folks up. This man makes some great stretches to prove his point that racism is dead in America.
I am not going to waste my space, but posting the whole article here, but I want to go over some excerpts so that you can either agree or disagree this man is on crack and has mentally gone buck wild.
It's not an accident, however, that increasingly, alleged cases of racism are tough calls, reflecting the complexity of human affairs rather than the stark injustice of Jim Crow or even redlining.
The cases of racism are now a tough call, because unlike Jim Crow era racism, it isn't as blatant, it is subtle, and it is coded. White people know not to call black folks the n-word now. That isn't a surprise, but it doesn't keep them from calling us Canadians.
But anyone who wants to take this line from now on will have to grapple with the elephant in the middle of the room: the president of AmeriKKKa is black. If the racism that America is "all about" is the kind that allows a black man to become president, then I'm afraid the nature of this "all about" is too abstract for me to follow, and most Americans will feel similarly. It's time to change the discussion.
The President of America identifies as black, but many white people who voted for him are quick to point out he is half white, and I don't think that hurt him with the white votes he did receive. I think in desperate times, like we are currently in, we are willing to set aside race to look at other factors in determining our President. I think having Bush in office the last 8 years was a plus to the Democrats, no matter who ran for President. Also note, did we forget the racially charged election we had. From Obama Waffles, the nooses in trees, to the accusations of using the race card, accusations of big black men attacking poor little white girl John McCain supporters, or Monkey T-shirts with Obama '08 on them. Did race not rear it's ugly head in this election?
As such, all of the AmeriKKKa-type rhetoric is now performance. Acts of racism should be condemned, of course. However, the gesture of claiming that each such thing should "remind us" of the dirty secret of what America is "still all about" now qualifies as a superstition, like hanging garlic in a doorway. That is, the 2005 movie Crash, in which prejudiced Angelenos take out their grievances on one another, was a melodrama, not a reflection of The Real America.
Racism is now superstition? It no longer exists because we have a black president? I am shocked and amazed by the complete ignorance feigned ignorance Mr. McWhorter possesses. There is no way racism ended simply because Barack Obama was elected. Racism might be less of a factor in desperate times, but it didn't go away. Black people still struggle as a result of the "superstitious" racism that exists in America.
I refer, rather, to millions of Americans of all colors who think of racism as a hot topic at all. Journalists, academics, community leaders, concerned citizens, NPR listeners--all must break the habit of supposing it is our moral duty to keep racism front and center in discussions about how to help disadvantaged black people. Because in 2009, that's all it is--a habit.
If we forget about racism and don't discuss it, racism will go away? Is this man serious?
However, the young men are not shooting each other because white people don't like them. OK, one might fashion an involved, subtle argument as to how when a 15-year-old in Brooklyn shoots another one in the face, it is traceable to racism--likely "societal" or "institutional."
McWhorter is under the impression if we pretend systematic racism never existed, it might go away, as well as it's long term effects. Of course, that is why we are pretending the long term effects of systematic racism might not have a thing to do with income discrepancies and why people live in poverty and desperation in America.
The point is valid even when the terminology is "societal racism," "institutional racism" or "white privilege." Obsessing over things that cannot be changed and are not the real problem anyway is of no use to anyone. Doctoral theses carefully teasing out the role of "racism" in this phenomenon or that one will seem about as useful to posterity as the scribings of an alchemist.
These things can't be changed, so why worry about them. Yeah that is a rational line of thinking right there. These aren't the real problem, then what is the real problem?
This man is crazy as hell, and there is no way he can believe this hot mess he just wrote. Yes I called it a hot mess, and Forbes.com must have been going through some slow times to post this nonsense.
32 comments:
Hey Sid,
Happy New Year. I know this has nothing to do with the blog post and I could have e-mailed you but oh well... Just wanted to say happy New Year. Hope you had a lovely Christmas :)
This article is dangerous on two fronts, but matbe not for the reasons you think.
Racism still exists and for a black man to not only say it's gone, but write it, is nothing but fuel for all the white people who have been turning a blind eye, not only keep it turned, but complain louder when they hear black people complain about anything.
On the other hand, racism is in no way what it once was. "It", being racism, no longer has the power to oppress an entire people, and by oppress I mean legally dissadvantage through state sanctioned exclusion or degredation. there are still huge problems and afteraffects of what the state has done and those things need to be dealt with.
This article also has the danger of pushing the division even further apart. Many people reading this will jerk the opposite direction and refuse to acknowledge, or simply forget to acknowledge, the progress we have made.
Reality is that there are a lot fewer racist white folks than most blacks thought. Obama's election does help illustrate that. Writing this article off as complete BS ignores the progress the writer is attempting to highlight, and doing so alienates the uninformed white reader.
I would submit that rational explanations of where this guy is off, or exaggerated, would be much more useful than loudly denouncing him.
HAPPY NEW YEAR SOILA!!!!!!!!!
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Brohammas, brohammas, brohammas,
I vehemently disagree I did not highlight what he said that was exaggerated or off. I think we disagree to the degree of racism that exists in this country. People voted for Obama out of desperation, he was the lesser of two evils, and was less of a reminder of the President we have had of the last 8 years. Race was put on the back burner for SOME (as there were many instances of racism that reared it's ugly head during that campaign), and the economy, issue of the healthcare, and the environment were put ahead of race. If you want to say that is a sign of race relations improvement, I agree. Institutionalized, systematic racism no longer exists, but it's impact is felt. You can't eliminate people's feelings of superiority or inferiority.
I will not concede to thinking racism is dead simply because we elected a black president, in which white people are very quick to point out his white ancestry, and refuse to call him what he wants to be called, what 50 years ago, they would have called him, which is a black man. I will not pretend or quickly assume all accusations of racism are unfounded and unwarranted.
Racism still exists and for a black man to not only say it's gone, but write it, is nothing but fuel for all the white people who have been turning a blind eye, not only keep it turned, but complain louder when they hear black people complain about anything.
I definitely do agree with this. I get so tired of white people taking the opinion of ONE black person and using that as proof of their argument.
This article also has the danger of pushing the division even further apart. Many people reading this will jerk the opposite direction and refuse to acknowledge, or simply forget to acknowledge, the progress we have made.
The man proclaimed racism in America is OVER......I can't subscribe to that belief system based upon my own personal experiences, to say racism is over is a slap in the face to every person who has experienced it, it is nothing but fuel for white people who want to pretend we are on an equal playing field because now the racism isn't so obvious,but more undercover and stealth.
Reality is that there are a lot fewer racist white folks than most blacks thought. Obama's election does help illustrate that.
No there are a lot fewer open racists now. There are many white people who are racist who refuse to acknowledge their racism. Obama getting elected didn't change the feelings of these people.
The white reader who typically comes to this site says they are alienated by me for more reasons than this post. From the get go I have told I am a racist, and then I get the usual spiel about black crime against white people, and how we are all in jail and are savage people.
He drunk the kool-aid.
Happy New Year everyone!
I knew that when Obama got elected people would wrongly decide that racism in America was dead. I
Racism will never die, not now and not a 1,000 years from now. Saying your going to end racism, is like saying your going to end war.
On the other hand, the misnomer "Amerikka" is quite a ludicrous one. If America is now, or ever had been a Klan state, not only would there not be a black president but no blacks would be left alive or free. The majority of Americans stood up against the Klan and prevented them from carrying out a genocide campaign against African Americans, which is what they intended to do.
I dont get it what's wrong with kool-aid?
HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
Sorry, nothing to do with post. But i really really hope you have agood one and wish you lots of love and happiness!!!!!!!!!
To be honest, this isn't surprising to me, for I went to high school with blacks who felt the same way...it's hard being surrounded by imbeciles when you're trying to connect with someone.
I would have to agree with Brohammas, yet I also think racism is institutionalized, and this is America's legal way of keeping opression on various levels.
any response begun with my name repeated three times has got to be great.
Is racism dead? Heavens no, and anyone who says so is dead wrong.
On this, you and I agree.
I am very critical of the white masses on a regular basis for either outright racism or more often racial ignorance, but these two things are cousins, not twins.
Things like that guy who tails you in the department store, plus Politicians mailing out racist CDs, and all the other ugliness, or more overt racist occurances, should be juxtaposed with the election of a black man as president. Niether happen in a vacuum and niether should just be explained away as irrelevant by either those saying racism is dead or those saying it is as bad as ever.
It is niether, but a more complex and subtle sliding scale on racial views.
Yes racists are more subtle in how they express thier views, but reality is also that there may in fact be less racists than you previously thought.
Here is the nitty gritty of race problems today (in my ever infallible opinion):
White people (in general) think there are no such things as racists.
Black people (in general) think all white people are racist.
Reality is that both sides are more wrong than they will ever admit. This missconception of the world is standing in the way of interracial communication and progress.
O yeah, and happy New Year!
Kat,
Happy New Year!!!!!!
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Lovelyn,
I am getting sick of this tired ass argument that because we let a black man succeed, America is a bastion of equality and all social ills as a result of racism has been eliminated.
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If America is now, or ever had been a Klan state, not only would there not be a black president but no blacks would be left alive or free.
It took a long time for blacks to get freedom, for many years people were silent about slavery and Jim Crow. It ended because people protested, and just because some folks fought against it, doesn't mean that people had an attitude adjustment to fix their racism.
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blackholesun,
It is Jim Jones cult koolaid. Strawberry and grape koolaid is ok, as long as it isn't laced :)
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Suesue,
Happy New Year!!!!!!!
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Beautifully,
I don't know where some folks were raised, but I don't understand, maybe Texas is incredibly racist, but race is a factor in how many people think, regardless of color. I am not 87 years old, but maybe because I have parents who remember segregation, because I have dealt with racism dealing with white folks the majority of my life, maybe my perception of race is skewed.
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Happy New Year brohammas :)
Reality is that both sides are more wrong than they will ever admit. This missconception of the world is standing in the way of interracial communication and progress.
I agree :)
I will say this, I think many white people, like many black people refuse to acknowledge their beliefs about race. To call a white person a racist is the worst of the worst, but many hold racist beliefs, even if they don't join the KKK or the Conservative Citizens Council. Black people are the same. THey hold racist beliefs without joining the New Black Panther party. I think that is the racism that is the issue of today, not the KKK.
Oh duh. You mean red and purple.
Siddity:
First off, Happy New Year, I hope is a good one for you.
I would like to read the text of the McWhorter article, but I don't see a link. Am I missing it? Can you re-provide it?
"White people (in general) think there are no such things as racists.
Black people (in general) think all white people are racist."
LOL! Also we define racism differently. Whites tend to think of racism as the KKK fervent type.
For blacks, a simple act like clutching your purse when you see me makes you a racist.
Most blacks I know believe whites are inherently racist. Why would anyone think this? I think they reason is that one being born white, in a white dominant society and enjoying white privilage has to see a black person as lesser than them therefore making them inherently racist.
Personally I think that Whites are naturally predesposed to being racist. It then becomes a choice and many don't care to to make the right choice while others do make the effort through out their lives. America is unique because there is awareness.
Places that don't have this awareness are deeply racist and they are not even aware of it.
If there was a way of measuring levels of racism, Amercian would fair better than most white nations simply because there is a conscius effort to fight it which is not taking place else where.
What makes racism impossible to die is its transformation involving the other minority groups namely Asians, Latinos, Arabs etal. I work in a majority Asian enviroment. But because it is government, they are forced to hire everyone. Otherwise there is no way a non Asian would work there. They even brag openly about being the dominant group in city jobs. There are like 2 whites on my floor, afew Indians, handful of Latinos, persians and the rest Asians. On my whole floor of about 100, we are like 5 blacks. The last black to be hired before me was hired 15 years ago. The guy has a PhD and they still frustrate him with promotions.
its important affirmative action programs remain in place.
I even see how the dynamics work. With regular simple staff, I am the last to get consideration for projects. The Asian guys I work under talk to me like like I am a retard. They don't talk to my other workmates the same way. Since I am on probation, I am behaving. But its real.
We misunderstand what racism is. To me, it can be perpertrated by any one with power. But blacks will continue to suffer the most especially from other non white groups. We have to remain vigilant.
And their argment is that since they are minorities too , they can't be racist.
If I'm not mistaken, this guy was on Bill Maher a while back. Unfortunately, there are many people who think that racism is over because Barack is president. I think that it's a positive step in race relations, but we still have a very long way to go. Racism does exist--it may not be as blatant, but it is insane to think that it just evaporated because of Barack Obama.
"The white reader who typically comes to this site says they are alienated by me for more reasons than this post. From the get go I have told I am a racist, and then I get the usual spiel about black crime against white people, and how we are all in jail and are savage people."
I'm a bored insomniac Lit major on winter break and I just happened to stumble across your blog today. Your writing style is clear and concise; I've enjoyed reading your posts.
And I had to drop a comment about that--do people actually say that black people are all in jail and are savage people? I'm really sorry. I know that I don't exactly have the authority to apologize for the actions of anyone else simply because they share my relative lack of skin pigmentation, but I do feel sorry that you've had to listen to that crap. :-P
MC Whorter (Steele, etc) have made a living bashing black people in public to appeal to whites who feel that Blacks not only complain too much about racism and that programs like Affirmative Action are egregious affronts to White progress but his plaintive rantings totally obfuscates the problem of White privilege in which this house of cards called racism is erected on. Therefore it isn’t surprising that he would write that steaming pile of denial as proof positive that Racism is dead.
His stereotypical beliefs and characterization of Black people is a person conflicted, because he does come from a privileged background that in many ways has been leap years ahead of Obama and bi-racial blacks such as him are always angry at the poor unwashed fucked up Black people that are bringing down his status and will continue to tarnish his accomplishments because Whites and other non-blacks will always question whether he rightfully earned it. This explains why he is such a staunch opponent of Affirmative Action and why he will constantly bash blacks with low test scores, gangster rap and black victimization and blame whitey—without seeing that Black America is far more complex and interesting then the stock stereotypes that he feeds to Whites (some deluded blacks) as proof positive that Blacks are inferior whiners. Thus I don’t see how he is uplifting the Black race with his usual tired diatribe when he has existed in Ivory Towers throughout his career and has never brought anything new and interesting to the race dialogue.
Naturally I advocate for Blacks helping themselves and each other and that there is a lot more that we can do, but it is difficult when every single race sees you as walking pathology no matter how great your accomplishments. I can understand the conflict, but to have this fantastically deluded notion that some Whites voting out of expediency against the Bush legacy, somehow diminished racism is ridiculous, especially when the introduction of Plain re-invigorated racism and McCain still walked away with over 40% of the white vote, especially if you look at popular voting results, Obama hardly walked away with a landslide, so again, for McCain to campaign on a racist and xenophobic campaign, how can McWhorter honestly sit there in his ivory tower completely and with artless wonder state that Racism is now dead and blacks better shut up and sit down.
"His stereotypical beliefs and characterization of Black people is a person conflicted, because he does come from a privileged background that in many ways has been leap years ahead of Obama and bi-racial blacks such as him are always angry at the poor unwashed fucked up Black people that are bringing down his status and will continue to tarnish his accomplishments because Whites and other non-blacks will always question whether he rightfully earned it."
WOW! I didn't realize he was biracial. What does he know about being dark black? He is speaking for blacks yet he already has light skin privilage.
I worked with an Ethiopian girl once and she was as light as the Latinos. She was treated much better than me. And guess what, she looked the other way while I was being abused. One thing I have noticed is when people get over the hurdles, they tend to look back and castigate those that haven't made it.
As a half white person, whether you accept it or not. You are born with one leg over, so if you do take advantage and get ahead, don't start looking back and abusing those that didn't have the same biological advantage. Get yours and if you have nothing helpful to say just keep moving and assimilate into whiteness instead of being part of the structure that tortures blacks.
I have nothing against biracial folks but some of them can be truly ignorant.
Eric the link is there, but I make it hard to see the link with my new colors, I will fix that. Sorry.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/30/end-of-racism-oped-cx_jm_1230mcwhorter.html
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LOL! Also we define racism differently. Whites tend to think of racism as the KKK fervent type.
For blacks, a simple act like clutching your purse when you see me makes you a racist.
Most blacks I know believe whites are inherently racist. Why would anyone think this? I think they reason is that one being born white, in a white dominant society and enjoying white privilage has to see a black person as lesser than them therefore making them inherently racist.
Exactly Grata, I think whites and blacks see racism differently.
And their argment is that since they are minorities too , they can't be racist.
I think the most openly racist people I have met have been folks who aren't white. Mexicans in Texas have the stereotype of typically hate black people. I can concur this is happened to me on occasion, in particular when I dated a half white/half hispanic guy. His mother HATED the fact he was dating a black girl.
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I think that it's a positive step in race relations, but we still have a very long way to go. Racism does exist--it may not be as blatant, but it is insane to think that it just evaporated because of Barack Obama.
Perfectly well stated. That is exactly how I feel.
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I'm a bored insomniac Lit major on winter break and I just happened to stumble across your blog today. Your writing style is clear and concise; I've enjoyed reading your posts.
And I had to drop a comment about that--do people actually say that black people are all in jail and are savage people? I'm really sorry. I know that I don't exactly have the authority to apologize for the actions of anyone else simply because they share my relative lack of skin pigmentation, but I do feel sorry that you've had to listen to that crap. :-P
Welcome Kat to the blog. You don't have to atone for the crazy folks who send me emails. If it makes you feel any better, I get emails and comments from black people who think I am a sell out appeasing the white man as well :) Crazy comes in all hues.
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His stereotypical beliefs and characterization of Black people is a person conflicted, because he does come from a privileged background that in many ways has been leap years ahead of Obama and bi-racial blacks such as him are always angry at the poor unwashed fucked up Black people that are bringing down his status and will continue to tarnish his accomplishments because Whites and other non-blacks will always question whether he rightfully earned it.
Darkmoon,
Great point. Growing up "upper middle class" I felt this way when white kids would ask what it was like to live in the ghetto or if I was in a gang. You want to prove to people you aren't like their perceptions, that you are different. I personally got over that mindset quickly when I realized the people who ask those type of questions will have that thought process, regardless of the facts or the examples of blacks presented to them in real life.
I think for some to feel superior they have to believe others are inferior, and McWhorter seems to be one of those folks.
Naturally I advocate for Blacks helping themselves and each other and that there is a lot more that we can do, but it is difficult when every single race sees you as walking pathology no matter how great your accomplishments
Exactly. I am still going to be perceived by some as low income, uneducated, with children out of wedlock based upon my race, even if none of it is true.
Racism still exists. However, it is now black Americans who are the biggest racists in America, youbeing one of them Siditty. The vast majority of black Americans problems are self-inflicted. I think that was John's point...and he is right on.
So exactly how am I racist? Is it because I point out racism?
"Mexicans in Texas have the stereotype of typically hate black people. I can concur this is happened to me on occasion, in particular when I dated a half white/half hispanic guy. His mother HATED the fact he was dating a black girl."
Don't you know that for them you are supposed to marry lighter? I see it with my workmates. The dark Mexicans have lighter children.
You are supposed to brighten up. You know if I had another life and had to choose what race to come back as, I would like to come back as a darker black, just to piss off people real good.
"The vast majority of black Americans problems are self-inflicted. I think that was John's point...and he is right on."
Spoken like a true racist. Even the whites would agree you soundlike a racist. I bet you are not even really white but think the more you degrade blacks the whiter you become.
You are one of those French, Spanish Indian, German whatevers descended from some faked up European Royals that have a chip on their shoulder because your blood is really tainted but are managing to pass off as white.
Here is a tip for you, fly to a Norwegian Village, there are many blond blue eyed girls doing nothing but milking cows and yoddling and they are dying to come to America. They would give you beautiful white kids.
Atleast your kids will then feel a little more white and won't need to certify their humanity by attacking blacks.
I second brohammas. This is very dangerous rhetoric. John McWhorter is a moron who got his ass handed to him for his latest book by I think it was the LA times. I don't understand how someone can proclaim that racism is OVER when it's been around for centuries, aye, millenia. I love Barack Obama, but he is not Jesus. He does not have the ability to end racism.
Exactly. I am still going to be perceived by some as low income, uneducated, with children out of wedlock based upon my race, even if none of it is true.
I believe it is a no one win situation which is why the old Black adage that you have to be twice as good in order to be viewed as normal to Whites (and even then they question your accomplishments as being done through Affirmative Action) and other Non-blacks certainly ring true. As has been noted before, when Barak was running those two years he was simply Black and his background was exoticized and scrutinized as not wholly American. Now that he’s won he is Bi-racial, and now far more white. Somehow his phenomenal success makes him less Black, more White and therefore far more acceptable to most Whites in which we operate under the insidious cultural meme that Black is deficient, immoral and evil.
I believe most non-Blacks ( and Blacks themselves to a certain extent based on the nihilism and devastation that is occurring within our community—field negro made a good post about this) see Black, unfortunately, as a conquered people, therefore we must accept the images, thoughts and beliefs that are foisted on us. To rebel against this and to individualize one's identity and how one wishes Black culture to be is an anathema—a treason. McWhorter and his ilk, do believe and invest in the negative images because of whatever they experienced from Blacks and Whites in their youth and beyond. The same way some Black men and women justify their dating or mating choices because of those bad short sighted Black people, so too has Mc Whorter who is still the angry nerdy kid who was demoralized by “anti-intellectual” Blacks in his youth and he is merely extrapolating on his experience as proof positive that Whites and others may well be right. Justification and making a profit is survival of the fittest mechanism in a society that can never see you as anything but an Other--outside their pristine reality.
"Now that he’s won he is Bi-racial, and now far more white. Somehow his phenomenal success makes him less Black, more White and therefore far more acceptable to most Whites in which we operate under the insidious cultural meme that Black is deficient, immoral and evil."
I have seen the Obama transition from Black to Biracial. I for one never saw Obama as black. He is what he is. The extent to which this society has taken long to accept that shows the level of sickness.
To his relatives he is Luo because he is his father's son but they would still acknowledge that he is biracial. If it was his mother who was Luo they wouldn't see him as such but rather a biracial child with the blood but he wouldn't carry the clan title.
Only in America would they completely write off his white heritage and later on accept it because he won.
I have seen the Obama transition from Black to Biracial. I for one never saw Obama as black. He is what he is. The extent to which this society has taken long to accept that shows the level of sickness.
To his relatives he is Luo because he is his father's son but they would still acknowledge that he is biracial. If it was his mother who was Luo they wouldn't see him as such but rather a biracial child with the blood but he wouldn't carry the clan title.
Only in America would they completely write off his white heritage and later on accept it because he won.
I mostly agree.
Funnily enough I saw him as Black before Bi-racial not only because there is no mistaking the imprint of African physiognomy, (after all, at first glance he could not possibly be categorized as racially ambiguous), but also because he has accepted himself as part of the Black community, even if some cynics saw it as a political expediency to appease the Black vote. Persons like Harold Ford, Jr of Tennessee, who are of Black/multiracial ancestry has worked to whiten himself by emphasizing his White ancestry (even though the relative who he claimed was white denounced him and stated that she was alight skinned Black woman) and has chosen to marry white—which in the end did not help his political aspirations.
Obama on the other hand, never played the sad tragic mulatto who didn’t fit into a black or white world. Nor did he vehemently disavowed either parts of his heritage because of bad experiences. However I think it takes a tremendous amount of courage and fortitude to identify with a group that is seen as the bottom of the barrel even if he has said later that he sees himself as a “mutt”. Needless to say, that he married Michelle a dark skinned Black American woman also illustrates that he may have made a conscious effort to incorporate Black even when he could have easily gone non-Black.
American saw him as Black before he won and I find it ironic that even though Black Americans are constantly belittled and berated for emphasizing the one drop rule as a pathetic attempt to include successful black bi-racials, many whites have always seen bi-racial Blacks who cannot blur their own racial make-up like Hapas, etc as simply Black and have forcibly included him as white because he is successful. If Obama never gotten that far, would he have been able to catch a cab? Would be profiled while driving Black, etc?
In one of his books, "Dreams From My Father", he talks about dating a wealthy White girl while he was in law school. He talked about how different their backgrounds were and how she didn't understand his commitment to being a servant leader.
I'm not sure if race had anything to do with it, but more to do with the fact that they were going in two different directions. I wonder if Obama had married a White woman, would he be as accepted by the BC. It was difficult enough for him in the beginning because alot of Black people didn't see him as "authentic" enough. Thankfully, many people have come around from this way of thinking. I'm sure that many people see him more as a Black man than a Biracial man. I don't think that he has completely transcended race like this McWhorter wants to portray.
"Needless to say, that he married Michelle a dark skinned Black American woman also illustrates that he may have made a conscious effort to incorporate Black even when he could have easily gone non-Black."
I think the choice of a marriage partner reveals which side a biracial person most identifies with. As for Harold Ford, he is pathetic. Look what they did to him with that white girl ad. Reminding him that he is not white. Hopefully his kids will be able to pass.
"I wonder if Obama had married a White woman, would he be as accepted by the BC. It was difficult enough for him in the beginning because alot of Black people didn't see him as "authentic" enough."
If he had a white wife, he would not be President today. I can't see black women pulling the lever for him. That was very clear from the beginning. There is no way.
And this is where black men hit a huge wall.
You can marry white all you want, but when it comes to political power, you will find it hard getting past the black community. On the social ladder, you will climb as high as you will but even then, your marriage had better work otherwise you end up like Charles Barkley.
McWHORTER is not dummy, but racism, which is a state of mind, is not going away. Even countries that have had female presidents (such as India) still have to deal wtih undaunting sexism.
Isms don't go away magically.
On the social ladder, you will climb as high as you will but even then, your marriage had better work otherwise you end up like Charles Barkley.
I agree 100%. Also OJ Simpson is another example. People like Tiger Woods, however get by in Black and White society with because they don't mouth off to the media the way Charles and OJ do. I have a great deal of respect for Tiger because he carries himself in a respectable manner. You don't hear his name linked with paternity suits and brushes with the law. But I don't think he readily identifies solely the Black community. He has described himself as a "person of color" and it is his right to do so. Many people in the BC have a habit of "claiming" everyone, even if they don't claim the BC. But, being loud, ignorant and arrogant in the form of thinking that you are above the law will get you into a lot of trouble as we have seen with Barkley, Simpson and many others.
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