2008 Woodie Awards
Obama's Speech on racism takes first step towards unity
Tim May
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Forum
On March 18, Barack Obama delivered one of the most powerful and rewarding speeches of any historical presidential candidate in recent memory. Obama put his best foot forward by directly confronting the United States' racist history that lives in the fabric of our society today.
Sure, this may not seem like a radical move at first glance. As college students and faculty, we have the potential privilege of discussing and theorizing issues of race to our hearts content. However, a good portion of the rest of the country doesn't have this opportunity. Therefore, it's an important problem to be discussed on a national level.
Racism is a topic that most political candidates try to subtly ignore. So, as one of those presidential candidates, Obama's decision to bite the bullet and lead a speech devoted to issues of race should be viewed as a profound and radical move.
The most important argument of Obama's speech dealt with the actual constructions of race. While many people may experience racism on an individual level, the foundation of racism is institutionalized and structural.
The thought of fighting racism seems to be an improbable act, which on some level, it is. The word racism carries a bundle of historical and personal implications that can't be unwoven merely through conversation. To negate the prominent force of racism in our society is to be incredibly ignorant.
Obama did exactly the opposite: he discussed his experience of being raised by a black man and a white woman, and the ethical issues of abandoning his pastor, who believes that the United States can never transcend their racist past.
Obama rejected this claim as static and unproductive. Instead, Obama honestly and publicly addressed and embraced realistic fears, confusions, and prejudices of whites and the harsh realities of many black communities across the country.
By exposing these truths, Obama called for our country to move beyond our racial history to address problems that citizens of the United States are experiencing in the present day. Despite our country's disturbing racial past, there are also problems occurring today that involve multiple identities.
Sure, this may not seem like a radical move at first glance. As college students and faculty, we have the potential privilege of discussing and theorizing issues of race to our hearts content. However, a good portion of the rest of the country doesn't have this opportunity. Therefore, it's an important problem to be discussed on a national level.
Racism is a topic that most political candidates try to subtly ignore. So, as one of those presidential candidates, Obama's decision to bite the bullet and lead a speech devoted to issues of race should be viewed as a profound and radical move.
The most important argument of Obama's speech dealt with the actual constructions of race. While many people may experience racism on an individual level, the foundation of racism is institutionalized and structural.
The thought of fighting racism seems to be an improbable act, which on some level, it is. The word racism carries a bundle of historical and personal implications that can't be unwoven merely through conversation. To negate the prominent force of racism in our society is to be incredibly ignorant.
Obama did exactly the opposite: he discussed his experience of being raised by a black man and a white woman, and the ethical issues of abandoning his pastor, who believes that the United States can never transcend their racist past.
Obama rejected this claim as static and unproductive. Instead, Obama honestly and publicly addressed and embraced realistic fears, confusions, and prejudices of whites and the harsh realities of many black communities across the country.
By exposing these truths, Obama called for our country to move beyond our racial history to address problems that citizens of the United States are experiencing in the present day. Despite our country's disturbing racial past, there are also problems occurring today that involve multiple identities.
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