I seem to find stranger articles on the weekends. Perhaps it’s due to slow news. Instead of talking about President Bush dodging a pair of size 10 shoes that were thrown in his direction during a press conference in Iraq, I’m going to start this Monday discussing one article that had me a bit confused as to why it is an issue in the first place.
This article discusses what exactly President Elect Obama’s race is and whether he should be labeled as black or biracial. Apparently this seems to be an issue among some crowds as I found an article about this on MSN as well as the Yahoo article I have linked. Some apparently say that he should not be labeled as the first black president due to having a white mother. Others say that even with an ounce of blood, he should be considered black.
Granted, President Elect Obama’s heritage does not include having ancestors who were enslaved in this country. (Being that his father was a native of Kenya.) Yet, he has African blood, which does, essentially make him African-American. Now, I’m not sure just how familiar you are with American History. However, I will assume, that you are quite aware that during the dark past in our nation’s history, when slavery was completely legal, the mixing of the races took place on some plantations in the South. Thomas Jefferson was known to have a relationship with Sally Hemmings and possibly had children with her. In fact, it’s believed that Sally Hemmings was a half-sister of Martha Jefferson, as Martha’s father had relations with Sally Hemming’s mother. Were slaves of both white and black blood considered to be bi-racial? Nope. They were considered as being black and lacked the rights that were afforded to blacks during that time.
So why are we getting into semantics of whether President Elect Obama is really the first black President or first bi-racial President? The point of the matter is that he is the first minority to obtain the Presidency. No matter what you call him, he represents a victory in this nation. Whether you label him as bi-racial or black, he is the realization of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.
What do you think?
Filed under: political morsel Tagged: | Barack Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., race
There are plenty of racist bigots still in this world today. I am constantly amazed by their ignorance and I think this is part of that same ignorance. I think they are trying to take away the significance of this win. This is an amazing thing that we have done for our country, to elect this man at this time for US and those of us with a brain do not care what his race is.
Great article………really. But not talking about a pair of shoes thrown at the President? Good God, self control is amazing.
I, on the other hand, am weak. I can’t help it. Somebody save me.
After exhaustive research, I discovered the real reason he went to Iraq. Yes, yes, it was to say goodbye, but not to the troops………
Duke
http://thedailyduke.com/bush-says-good-bye-to-more-than-just-the-troops/
Somebody has too much time on their hands! History is history, no matter what, and we have elected a great MAN!
Can’t we just get past race? It is so disheartening that some assholes in the press can’t get past this subject with so much serious stuff going on. Shame on them.
I am so psyched about Obama’s appointment of Steven Chu as energy secretary: a Nobel Prize winning physicist. What an idea, appointing smart people to these posts. An actual scientist who will make decisions based on empirical evidence. I am all warm and fuzzy with anticipation!
Obama’s election makes history rather you consider him African-American or bi-racial. I say let’s focus on the challenges ahead of us and let history decide how to label him. As long as “history” labels W as the worst president ever, I’ll be happy.
Many moons back when Obama first became a serious contender in the running, I had a conversation with a friend who insisted that “we’” were not ready as a country to elect a black man as President. I replied by saying that if anyone could fit the bill it would be Barack Obama, since everyone would see in him what “they” wanted to see in him.
Call it what you want, but for me, many of the people that did go into that voting booth and voted for him needed to know somewhere deep down that they were actually pulling that lever for a “white” man. I honestly find this appalling, but in some way, and on some level, I believe that Obama understood that part of human nature.
The story goes one step further here. I was never able to convince this friend of mine to vote for Obama, but after he won the election we were talking one day and she turns to me out of the blue to state, that Obama was not really black but white, since his Mother was white. As I shook my head in wonderment and for whatever this whole story is worth, it only deepened my understanding of how complicated race and our perception of it in this country really is.
Thanks for this great discussion.
Willpen
Like you, I have noticed a lot of writing online about Obama’s ethnicity.
I have been lurking on some conservative websites and blogs for a few weeks now (one that is particularly interesting is blackandright.com–not an endorsement, just a mention).
The conservative websites and blogs seem sharply divided even among themselves about the race issue and not once have I found a mention in those I visit about healing the rift between liberals and conservatives. Mostly, it’s just sour grapes and negativity. I tried to post a comment on a conservative blog about Obama’s citizenship and MAN– I have never felt so trounced in all my life.
It was like beating my head against a wall; can’t fix stupid, I guess.
I voted for Obama because he was the most qualified, best candidate. I admit I felt a certain thrill pushing the spot on the screen-ballot that checked the box next to Obama-Biden.I felt like an American and my vote counted. Our country made history November 4, 2008 in many ways.
If people want to focus on race, let them. They are the ones who obviously have the issue with it, not me (and many others, right?). Racism, like any other form of discrimination, comes from a place of deep and powerful fear in the psyches of those who are inflicted by it.
The thing that pisses me off the most is this garbage about Obama’s citizenship. For some morons, not only is he not like them, but he is also not even a citizen. I blogged about this yesterday and had a few conspiracy theorists post comments. Was find of fun.
Thank the gods and goddesses (or whatever you believe or don’t) the Electoral College is certifying the election today.
Race isn’t an issue any more, despite some people’s views on the matter…..the good ‘ole US of A just elected a black man as our president….it’s a done deal folks! Like I said…some people have too much time on their hands…and like TBT said, we have more pressing things to worry about now!