Barack Obama and Race

The passage below from the recent speech by Barack Obama, bluntly titled “Barack Obama's Speech on Race” addresses a topic that we, as a rule, avoid speaking about. Obama has, I think, done a reasoned, articulate, and compassionate job of speaking of the race divide in this country, and while some, like me, are impressed and heartened by the speech, it has also earned him much criticism. No wonder we don’t talk about it. I hope Omaba’s speech does open up the topic despite the acrimony.

Here are a few of Obama’s words: And occasionally [African American anger] finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour of American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity within the African-American community in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful. And to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience — as far as they're concerned, no one handed them anything. They built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pensions dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and they feel their dreams slipping away. And in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear an African-American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Listen here or read here.

YouTube Standouts

Darlene sent this link this week--just what I needed: Leonard Cohen-"Dance Me to the End of Love."

"What a Mom Says" is cute.

And Mateo's favorite is "Rabbit in My Rucksack"
And 6/17/08, Mateo's new favorite Jerry Needs No Help...

About Travel

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Style

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