By Phill Wilson, Black AIDS Institute
Saturday's Los Angeles Times ran a Joel Pett comic strip commenting on Senator Barack Obama's victory in the Iowa Democratic caucuses. A Black man and women are sitting at a table. The man is reading a newspaper, and he says to the woman, "A white state voted for a black man...cool!"
The woman replies, "You mean 3% of a 98% white state voted for a 50% Black Man?" The woman leaves the room. The man considers what she said, and then says to himself, "Still Cool!"
I made a point of watching Senator Obama's Iowa victory speech with my nephew. In some ways my desire to share that experience with him had nothing to do with who he should vote for, who should be the democratic nominee, or even who should be the next President of the United States.
It has everything to do with how he sees himself.
I wanted him to see first hand what hope, hard work and perseverance can do. Hopelessness, fatalism and and giving up because the prospects look impossible are pervasive among African Americans today. We have an obligation to infuse as much hope as possible in our communities, and especially among our young people.
Regardless of whether Obama goes on to win, or whether you support him, his victory injected a badly needed dose of hope into Black America.
Barack Obama's campaign is not just about whether white people will vote for a Black candidate. It is also about what role Black people are willing to play to in our democracy. Our democracy is in trouble and America needs us. We cannot achieve racial equality in America, if we do not equally participate in the democratic process. The vote in Iowa represents who Americans want to believe we are-and we can help all of us-black, white, rich, poor, red state, blue state-get there.
African Americans have a lot at stake in this election.
This is not an election where we can be AWOL. We cannot sit on the sidelines this time around. Nor can we just give our votes away. We have to be actively engaged every step of the way. No matter whom we support, we have to let them know that we are there, and they ignore us at their peril. We need to be writing the campaigns every day. We need to be attending the rallies and forums en masse. We need to be heavily represented among the volunteer corps. We need to be listed among the major donors. And each and every one of us needs to VOTE.
We need to ask questions, lots of questions. What is the candidate going to do about the sub-prime mortgage disaster? When is New Orleans going to finally be rebuilt? How are they going to reverse the shameful trends in college admission of Black students? What is their plan to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities? Any candidate who cannot or will not answer questions of import to us does not deserve our support.
Today, voters from New Hampshire are going to the polls to make their own comment on the Iowa caucuses. But no matter what the good people of New Hampshire decide, no matter who ultimately is the Democratic standard bearer, no matter who becomes the next president of the United States, they can't unring the bell of hope that was Iowa.
And that's "Still cool."
1. After reading this article and a few others tonight, I'm convinced that Mr. Obama is for real. One article compared his oratorial skills to those of John and Robert F. Kennedy (If I remember correctly, it was an article about the impact of Obama's candidacy on race relations, filed in the (I think it was filed under a Reuter's Analysis column) Reuter's political analysis section.) To his great credit, Obama showed restraint and sensitivity by simply refusing to comment on a reportedly tearful statement made by Clinton. He said that he did not know the context, the campaign is a grind, and he did not want to say any more about it. As he was buying a few small gifts for his daughters, he had the humility to admit that he was broke seven years ago.
It's hard to say this about any politician, but Obama looks like the real deal -- at least some percentage of the real deal. He could win it all. Wouldn't that be cool?
Whatever happens, you have a lucky nephew.
lamprod at 11:56PM on Jan 7th 2008