groups

Sherri.....I hope what I'm about to say isn't taken the wrong way. Because soooo many things have been taken out of context during this campaign.
Within the african-american community there is a since of pride whenever an african-amercan is the first to do something that was never done before by an african-american. It just 50 years ago that african-americans were denied a lot of rights in this country...especially in the south and some places in the north. You and I couldn't sit in the same restaurant, you and I couldn't drink from the same water fountain, you and I couldn't attend the same schools, you and I couldn't sit next to each other on the bus, you and I couldn't have a conversation in public (look up Emmitt Till on Google). In the south african-americans were denied the right to vote in a lot of areas. If they tried to vote, there may have been consequences to pay.........I was drafted into the military in 1966 and had basic training at Fort Gordon which is outside Augusta, GA. In my military uniform there were places I couldn't go into because I was african-american. The results of the civil rights period did open doors for a lot of african-americans but it has been an on going struggle to be recognized for our intelligence. Even in sports, if an african-american played quarterback in college, many thought he wasn't smart enough to play quarterback in the pros....now there's quite a few because they proved it could be done. Since slavery, each little accomplishment made by an african-american was looked at with pride within the community.....even if he/she was being hired as the first african-american janitor for a particular company........When Michelle Obama made the remark that 'this is the first time she's been proud of her country'....even that was taken out of context. When Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the supreme court, I heard my parents make the same remark....it was out of a sense of pride. When Barbara Jordon was elected to congress, I heard my relatives make the same remark...it was out of a sense of pride. When Colin Powell was appointed head of the joint chiefs of staff....many african-americans made the same remark....it was out of a sense of pride. They didn't hate their country, they weren't unamerican, they took pride in the fact that these people were pioneers. It's true that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton ran for president also, but their run was more of a statement. They didn't have a chance of winning or getting the support that is needed to win. My mother is 87 years old, grew up in the south and she can't believe that an african-american actually has a chance to win the presidency. She has seen a lot in her lifetime that has made her think that an african-american could never be president in this country........So those african-american ARE voting for Obama because he is black....but it's not playing the race card...most would never vote for Jesse Jackson...most would never vote for Al Shaprton, but here's a man....an african-american man...educated, intelligent, a U.S. Senator who, for the first time, has the qualifications to lead the country. When just 50 years ago he would have been denied the right to vote in many places...and once the right to vote was given, after many lives were lost, the candidates were all white and male. But many african-americans took a lot of pride in voting also, regardless who was running. I hope you understand the significance of this and why a lot of african-americans are voting for Senator Obama....many african-americans are also voting for Senator Clinton, but those who are voting for Obama are not playing the race card, they are voting for a qualified candidate who happens to be the first african-american running for the presidency and they are very very proud of that.
What I think should happen...and this was fought for during the civil right period also...what I'd like to see is more Black Studies programs within the school system. Not a program for blacks, a program for all. It would be about the contributions of african-americans throughout history, and there are many many...but most people don't know about them unless they research it themselves. The black studies program would also give people an insight into the african-american community...how slavery still affects some people, why it still affects some people, the stories that were past down from generation to generation, how the churches were formed, the contribution the churches made to the african-american family......A lot of these things mainstream american has no knowledge of, or very little. Not because it's a secret...it's not, but because no one thought it was important to know. We are all americans and should know and understand each other. When american history is taught in the schools a lot is left out. I was taught all about the american government, the constitution, the bill of rights, but a lot of the history about my own race I had to learn from stories past down through my family or going to the library and reading.
I know this was a long explanation and I hope you understand what I said....I hope you truly understand....

Virgo, Absolutely wonderful post.

Virgoman3, thank you for that response. It will trump any thing I attempt to say. Really thoughtful response.

Long before race became an official issue, Obama was noted in every radio, TV, and newpaper stories as "A Black Man". I rarely heard that he was just Barack Obama. He was Barack Obama, a Black Man - or The First Black Man...as if we needed to be constantly reminded of this. Just drove me crazy. It is an obsession that didn't seem to be coming from the Black Community, unless the Black Community secretly runs all the media in this country, and I'm thinking that probably isn't the case.

I think - and I'll say this as a Gay Man (andI realize that being Gay is not the same thing as being Black, just as I realize that being Disabled isn't the same thing as Being Gay, and being Jewish or Buddhist isn't the same thing as being Gay, and being Jewish isn't the same thing as being a Woman, but all can give one a glimpse of being outside the mainstream) - that Obama is a Black Man if you are not Black. If it wasn't for straight people, I wouldn't be gay - I'd just be me. I think white folks are the ones worried about who is black, not black folks. For them, he is just a person. If Condolezza Rice was running for Prez, I don't think you'd be able to say that folks were voting along racial lines. Every single President we have had has been white - is that because people have been voting along racial lines? It must be, since the majority of voters are white.

No, I don't think we have progressed enough to get past this issue. I think we are just now getting comfortable enough to address it. It is surprising that so many white folks are getting the slightest taste of what it might feel like to be addressed as a race, instead of as a person, and it is making us squirm. Imagine being rooted in it. Blacks are not in a position to discriminate against white folks. Some may have some strong negative feelings, but that can't touch centuries of legal bondage and discrimination, and no - we aren't over it yet. IF, and I don't believe this is the case at all, but IF every single Black person decided to vote for a Black candidate, so what? Have at it. Again, white folks have been doing it since the first election and no one has been concerned about it so far.

Are McCain's fans playing the race card? Seems like whenever he won the primary, it was in a state with a majority of white Republican voters.

I'll be brief and defer to the responses by Virgoman3 and ikahana. However, in the interest of allaying any fear out there in middle America, there is no state in the United states with a majority of black voters.

Wonderful thoughtful respnses. Thanks.
Of course race matters. And gender. After Richardson dropped out, I was attracted to HRC PARTLY because she was a woman.
She lost me.
AND she lost a significant chunk of the Black voters who supported her until her campaign went so very wrong. Playing the race card seems to have pissed a lot of Black voters off. For good reason.

At this point, I fear a subtext of the national campaign will be "minorities are trying to take over." This is a common theme on some political/conservative forums.

Fabulous conversation here. Virgoman3, yours is an eloquent testimony to growing pride. Ikahana, as a Gay man, you surely can speak to prejudice. And, okhela, you make me laugh.

It always made perfect sense to me that African-Americans would vote, in large numbers, for Obama. Not because of skin color, but because of experience . . . because he has an inkling of what it is like to walk in their shoes.

This president would hear a statement, like Michelle Obama’s, that for the first time she was proud of her country, and he would not have Cindy McCain’s response. He would understand that she didn’t mean that she hated this country. He would understand that she was expressing gratitude for, finally, having been given the opportunities that have been available, since inception, to Whites . . . to white males, at least.

Virgoman....I understand the evolution of Civil Rights for African Americans. I was born in the northeast. When I moved to Dallas, as a 12 year old, it was the first time that I was exposed to signs that read Hotel/Colored only. That is not to say that there were not prejudices all over the country, but they were not as widespread as you seem to believe. The school that I attended in 7th grade was fully integrated. That was in Cincinnati. Oddly, when I moved to Dallas (8th grade), not knowing a soul at my new school...the very first comment I heard someone make on the 'playground' after lunch was, "I would rather be Black than Jewish". Being Jewish, you can imagine my shock. But I digress.....

During high school I helped to create a breakfast program for Black kids in west Dallas who were being bussed to schools in Irving, and so did not qualify for the Dallas Head Start program (or whatever it was called back then). This included getting people to donate all the food driving to west Dallas early in the morning to prepare the breakfasts, and then driving back to attend school ourselves. I also tutored African American kids after school. I tell you all this because I want you to understand where I am coming from. Now....fast forward to college. I took an English class titled Black Literature - excellent reading by the way. Of the 15 or so kids in the class (back then English classes at UT were kept small), there were 4 African American students. On the first day, the teacher 'quizzed' us on some common terms associated with African Americans. The terms were not necessarily good or bad....just common terms one would come across from reading. Examples were 'Hankerchief Head' and "Uncle Tom'. How odd that those young Black students were not familiar with any of these terms. I beat the pants off them as far as scores went.;-) My take was that there were two Americas for Blacks - those who could afford to attend college, and those who could not.

Where I think your argument fails is that African Americans are not the only group who have not achieved high office. As was noted, women did not receive the right to vote until 1920, and surely you must realize we had a Black Supreme Court justice prior to having a female justice. There have never been any female presidents, any Jewish presidents, any Asian, Islamic, etc., etc., etc. Isn't it about time that we put the stereotypes away and just see people as people. Drawing attention to Obama's race merely perpetuates that differentiation. Voting for him because of race perpetuates the separate but equal mindset. How can we expect children to be colorblind if we as adults are not?

Dear Miss SherriP:

I for one think that we should face up to the fact that Americans are prejudice despite their preaching of Christianity.

Here is a section of an article in the New York Magazine where Fishburne states & I quote:

Fishburne is sitting at the cozy Popover Café near his Upper West Side apartment, digging into a Creole Scramble, and sporting a wisp of a mustache he’s growing to play America’s first black Supreme Court justice in the one-man Broadway show Thurgood. “It’s funny,” he says, “when you hear people ask you things like, ‘Is there still racism in America, is there still racism in Hollywood?’ And you just want to smack the shit out of them.” See -->> view link

Being a White New Yorker Puerto-Rican I know from experience what what he is saying is quite true about Americans.

Someday maybe we will have Puerto-Rican U.S. President!!

Respectfully,

Herman Ortiz

. Drawing attention to Obama's race merely perpetuates that differentiation. Voting for him because of race perpetuates the separate but equal mindset. How can we expect children to be colorblind if we as adults are not?

Well, we are not. And I'm not sure being colorblind should be a goal. We do notice differences, we always will. I guess it is my hippie sister's influence that still wants people to celebrate, appreciate, learn, and share those differences, not try to ignore them. On the other hand, who is drawing attention to Obama's race? I still strongly believe it is white folks who felt like it was necessary to mention it with each mention of his name, then when it started to take on a life of it's own it was this backtracking "why do you have to go and make race an issue" thing. Again, Obama is only black if you are not. I'm only gay if you are straight. You are only a woman if there is a man. McCain however is never white. Why is that?

Ikahana, your “hippie sister” and I are in agreement.

I was fortunate to be raised in a family which had close friends of different races and different sexual preferences. But it's not that my family of origin didn't recognize differences. They just didn't assign hierarchy . . . other than, perhaps, politically (they were staunchly Democratic).

Allow me, please, to remove (briefly, for illustration purposes) the personal element from this discussion. I'd like, instead, to draw upon an analogy and look at the matter in terms of food.

I love curry dishes and Szechuan chicken. I love sushi and sashimi. I love souvlaki. I love sweet-potato pie. Though I no longer eat them, I used to love BBQ ribs, the spicy, hickory-flavored kind I've only found in little holes-in-the-wall in San Francisco's Fillmore District. I love my grandmother's hamentaschen. I love burritos and tamales . . . hand-made in corn husks and sold by street vendors out of baskets. And the list goes on and on. Just the mention of these dishes can set me salivating.

How could I possibly appreciate . . . or even taste . . . them, if I couldn't distinguish the differences between them?

It's often said that love is blind. I disagree. Love needs 20/20 vision; if it doesn't have that, it's not love, but something else.

I hope that society, instead of aiming for “color-blindness,” can learn to savor all the different hues . . . and flavors.