Does the very fact that Barack Obama is of mixed race influence voters on a subconscious level?
Obama isn’t Black?
Obama isn’t Black?
There has been a great deal of speculation about Obama and race of late. He has faced some challenges with appealing to the white and Latino working class voters as he comes off as an “elitist”. Some of the African American population also feels as though he “isn’t black” due to his having a Kenyan father and a Kansas native mother, versus being directly descended from West African slaves. Some argue that his background of privilege allowing for him to seek higher education and become a community leader, prevents him from rightly sympathizing with the oppression of the “real black experience”. Little do speculators know, but Obama has in fact spent many formative years in the South Side of Chicago, living and experiencing the adversities countless minorities face. The question presents itself: What does it mean to be black? Biden’s recent controversial comment of Obama being “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate, and bright and clean and a nice looking guy” has inspired much discussion about race and politics. Again, is being black simply the physiology of having darker pigmentation? Is it a way of living prescribed by certain cultural norms? Why should this or should this not affect how we perceive Senator Obama?
Open Mic Comments
What is meant by "the real black experience" that Obama supposedly cannot speak to? This implies "the real black experience" is that of poor African-Americans. We are walking on thin ice when one person claims that "their" experience is the ultimate experience for their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Let's not claim that anyone can speak for one race or gender. We each have bits of the Truth, and not one of us has All of It. As long as we keep this in mind when evaluating people's comments, we're on the right path.