Whether or not he becomes president, Obama delivered one of the finest speeches on race in America in March of this year. It wasn't so much that he was eloquent about race but also that he indicated an empathy with whites who feel angry about affirmative action. While this speech is about race, what elevates it to me is that in some ways it is not about race. His point is that we are ready to move on beyond race and embrace each other as humans who share a common bond. He has been called the first "post-racial" black politician. Here is the speech and you can judge for yourselves. Also, here is a very touching video on the responses of kids in high school class in the Bronx responding to the speech and particularly to the phrase he used in the early part of the campaign, "yes, we can".
Here's the question: Do you feel we are post-racial? More specifically, what evidence do you have that we are beginning to move beyond race as a meaningful category for judging the worth of another person?
1 comment:
I don't think we are post-racial by any means. There is certainly evidence that society, as a collective unit, seems to be embracing an integrated and inclusive approach to life and government, but things are still very complicated. First of all many people believe that representation should be equal to demographic proportions, but this thinking reflects attention to race. Why shouldn't the best Americans represent us in Government? This thinking applies to many walks of life, and indicates we are not in a post-racial world. Furthermore, I have individually ran into many people who think in very racial terms personally, but still accept what they believe to be a "post-racial" world throughout society. If this type of thinking continues, I think we can safely assume we are still at least a generation away from true post-racial thinking. In an increasingly global world, countries or societies that adapt this form of thinking will be better equipped to compete, innovate, and produce in the quest for development. Let's hope the generations born after the civil rights movement can escape the us vs them mentality and embrace people of all walks of life.
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