How Obama rose above the race issue
The 2008 Presidential race, and in particular Barack Obama's candidacy as the first viable black candidate, has raised several pertinent questions, including whether America is ready for a black President. It has highlighted the progress that has been made in civil rights since the days of segregation in the 1950s and 1960s, but it has also highlighted the work that still needs to be done to truly bring Americans together.
The American public was forced to confront the issues of race directly during the last few weeks as this issue took centre-stage in the campaign - in particular when Obama's campaign faced controversy over the candidate's pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and his controversial comments about America being controlled by "rich white people" with blacks as the perpetual underclass.
Wright is Obama's pastor of 20 years, and these sound bites seemed to belie Obama's message of unity, of rising above racial and other divisions, and coming together as a country - something which the American media drove home by playing the clips again and again while giving very little about their context.
While these comments were deeply regrettable, they were sound bites that ignored the good work Wright has done for the community and in fighting poverty. Also, Wright is a black man who came of age during an era of segregation when African-Americans were denied equal opportunities to succeed. Wright's words - as regrettable as they were - were expressions of the frustrations of that generation.
There was a blatant double standard employed against Obama and African American preachers. After all, many white evangelical leaders, who are openly embraced by Republican candidates, are known to have made disparaging remarks about Jews, Muslims, and Catholics. Rudy Giuliani, a candidate who distinguished himself by the 9/11 crisis, openly accepted the endorsement of Pat Robertson - someone who stated that 9/11 was a punishment by God to the American people for their sinful natures, a severe form of victim blaming.
In fairness to the American media, there were a few dissenting voices raising these counter-points, but for the most part they got drowned out in the replayed clips of Wright's controversial statements. Obama's poll numbers slipped and pundits raised questions about whether his candidacy would implode.
However, it was in the face of this adversity that Obama truly emerged as a statesman and matured as a candidate by giving what, at least in my opinion, was his greatest speech yet. It was a risky strategy, but he decided to confront the Wright issue (and the larger questions about race) head on rather than trying to evade them.
In his speech, delivered in Philadelphia, Obama iterated how while there has been important progress, there was still a long way to go. He re-emphasized his message of unity, and of the need to rise above these divisions and come together as a country.
His speech also had a strong personal tone. He highlighted how despite his pastor's regrettable remarks, he couldn't disown him, as he was like family. Obama further told the story of his white grandmother who at times made disparaging remarks about black people.
Obama in essence forced us, as listeners, to not only confront our own experiences with prejudice, but to understand the experiences of others as well.
Obama showed depth and understanding of the American cultural condition. He showed that he was more than just rallies, that he was someone willing to directly confront issues no matter how complex or how controversial and come out a better leader in the end.
As Canadians, we shouldn't dismiss this as a case of "just those backward Americans-" too often, it is easy for us to disparage the United States as an excuse for not taking a hard look at ourselves. While thankfully we don't have propaganda outlets on the scale of FOX NEWS, our society does have its own divisions (linguistic and ethnic) and a media that at times doesn't accurately reflect these issues.
For example, too often if there is news of a crime committed in the Muslim or Sikh communities, it is presented as being something endemic to these cultural groups, as evidence they don't understand "our values."
Lost in such stories is the fact that the vast majority of Muslims and Sikhs are law-abiding citizens and that criminal activities exist among all cultural communities. It is important for us to confront our stereotypes and prejudices, both in ourselves and in others, and in how they can play out in public discourse.
Obama's speech was a powerful one. It forced people examine their own prejudices, the prejudices of those around them, and the prejudices that characterize their society.
It marked Obama's emergence as a true statesman and hopefully will foster an important social dialogue.
Hassan Arif is a graduate of UNB Law School and received his MA in Political Science at Carleton University. He resides in Fredericton.
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