TMP Online

Resident columnist Lola Adesioye reflects on Barack Obama’s speech on race this week.

Regardless of whether or not people think Barack Obama is capable of being the next president of America, he has shown himself this week to be one of the greatest post-civil rights thinkers of this generation. Many people – both black and white - now feel that the polarized, divided, white-versus-black rhetoric of leaders from the civil rights era is outdated, yet no senior politician or public figure has been able to offer a new cohesive vision or understanding of modern day American race relations.

The Civil Rights movement was an extremely important part of American history. The vocal, often angry, finger-pointing, in-your-face nature of civil rights leaders was necessary and appropriate for the time. That energy was needed in order for crucial changes to take place. Today though, as the media storm about Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s comments have shown, that kind of presentation of America’s racial problems is seen as divisive and turns people off. Those who have not been brought up watching a fight for basic rights simply do not understand black people who talk about race in that way.

Post Civil Rights, America appears to have struggled somewhat in an effort to find a newer political and social vision that incorporates the racial challenges of today, resulting in less than honest or open discussions about the topic. For example, it’s only recently that people believe that the issue of race has become a core issue in the American electoral campaign yet it has been discussed, albeit indirectly, almost daily. Barack Obama went a long way towards directly addressing the issue that this week with his brilliant “Perfect Union” speech.

Few find it easy to discuss race in a way which is not divisive or inflammatory. Obama’s speech showed that race can be discussed and presented in a way that takes in the concerns of all people of all colours and addresses them in a progressive manner, whilst also taking history and its present-day ramifications into account. He does not discount the anger felt by some sections of the black community, nor the anger felt by some white people. He recognizes that all viewpoints are legitimate. The question that he addresses – the most fundamental question – is how to move forward from that.

Moving forward requires looking at the real issues, rather than simply putting problems down to racism or racial differences. The young men standing on the corner selling drugs are not there because they are black. They are there because, as Obama says, many of “…the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.” Despite that recognition, however, Obama still calls on the black community to be responsible and take positive action in spite of difficulties.

Obama was right to say that the comments made by both Geraldine Farraro and his own pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright are expressions of the complexities surrounding race. Indeed race is a complex issue, which until now seemingly had no unifying path. Blacks and whites in America have come closer together, but in many ways still remain so distant and still view each other with some suspicion. Obama, however, points out that the unifying factor is that ultimately all Americans want the same thing: a better future. As he says: “…we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes;…we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.” It’s so simple but yet has been so hard to reach and so hard to articulate.

I was thoroughly impressed by Obama’s speech. Anyone who has questioned Obama’s ability to understand the challenges facing African Americans should no longer be in doubt that this is a man with a very deep and thorough understanding – and forward thinking vision – of race in America today. He clearly also understands how race affects and impacts on white people which is vital because difficult race relations is a problem for all of America, not just some sections of it.

Obama’s speech is not only relevant to America. All western countries can benefit from Obama’s vision and I hope our own UK government will read his words and reflect.