Now that the election is over, the historic implications of electing the country's first black president have edged their way into discourse about the future of race relations in America. In an article this past weekend, New York Times' reporter Michael Sokolove returned to his native hometown of Levittown, Pa., to reflect on the changed perceptions of Obama after he first reported on the town's reaction to Obama's message. During the primary, race was an issue for many voters in the town, with one voter admitting Obama's race, even his name, complicated his decision to vote for him.
Despite these racial barriers, Sokolove returned months later on Election Day to a town which overwhelmingly responded positively toward the possibility of an Obama presidency. He speculated if in the end voters chose out of "fear for their own economic survival. Self-interest trumped racism." Whether out of self-interest or another reason, each individual's decision to vote for Obama was unique. But agreements among scholars, pundits and students reflect a general awe of the historic nature of Obama's victory.
The historic nature of this election has been met with a certain degree of caution though. In a panel last week, Brown professors stressed that while historic, it does not represent an end to racial inequality in America. Professor of Africana Studies Tricia Rose PhD'93 reminded us that we should not simply settle for "symbolic equality." As the symbolism of equality begins to fade perhaps we should consider the symbolism of a president with global roots in the U.S., Kenya and Indonesia.
Though Obama's identity is difficult to define, only rarely is he considered "multiracial." Brown has already begun a discussion about Obama's multiracial identity and its implications for future discourse; as a part of Multiracial Identity Week last month, panelist Kimberly McClain DaCosta, a professor of social studies at Harvard, noted that in contrast to the U.S., Obama was often seen as a "mixed-race" candidate in France. In his speech on race last March, Obama himself addressed his complicated roots: "I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. ... I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents ... in no other country on Earth is my story even possible."
The possibility of Obama's story in this country reflects a new chapter in racial politics, but subsequent discourse should embrace the diversity of his identity, for perhaps it's only then we will see the nation, as Obama hopes, no longer as a "black America and a white America" but moving toward a more "united" states of America, one that is ready to engage in the important discussions which we will encounter in the coming years.
