Meghan O’Rourke, a young writer over at Slate called “Where Hillary Clinton Went Wrong.” According to her, Hillary lost the votes of young feminists because she didn’t capitalize on the fact that she was blazing a historic trail in the same way that Obama has.
Wait. Did I miss something? Last time I checked, Obama has been doing the best he can to completely neglect the fact that he is making history for African-Americans. Watching his speech last night as he became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic party, a friend and I joked that it took him 30 minutes to make a “Black reference” – when he briefly mentioned the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery a few minutes before his speech was over.
Having just finished my term as president of Georgetown’s NAACP chapter, and now starting my internship with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, AL, birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, I have never felt more strongly about the need for us to recognize the martyrs of that movement. Countless people of that era sacrificed everything, and many died, for the right to vote and participate in this country’s democracy. Now, Obama is directly benefitting from the sacrifices of the generations before him: people like Rev. George Lee, Lamar Smith, Herbert Lee, Medgar Evers, Jimmy Lee Jackson, Rev. James Reeb, and Viola Liuzzo, all of whom were murdered because they fought for voting rights. I personally think that those who made his presidential bid possible deserve a thank you.
I know it’s politics. I know that if he were running as the “Black candidate” like Jesse Jackson, he would not have come this far. I know that in order to win, the majority of America, which is White, has to vote for you. But still, can the trail-blazing achievements of Black people in this country at least get a shout-out or something? I’m not trying to add to the “not black enough” debate – obviously Obama cares about his own people, or he wouldn’t have dedicated his life to serving them by becoming a community organizer and a civil rights lawyer. All I’m saying is, ever since he began his campaign, he has completely taken for granted his Black supporters by failing to acknowledge their specific concerns and needs, and the contributions African-Americans have made to this country.
To me, it seems almost as if Obama believes that White America has forgotten he is Black. Trust me, they haven’t. While many Whites are probably comforted that he was raised by a White mother and grandparents because he can relate to them better, at the end of the day they do realize what color he is. So why the hesitation, Obama? An MLK reference or a pledge to combat racism in the justice system here and there is not going to make White America turn their backs on you.
Or maybe it will. Maybe I’m being naïve. As a White woman, I’ll never have to struggle with putting my race to the side to appeal to the broader masses. But I have been through something similar. When I was nominated to run for president of my college’s NAACP chapter, I was thinking, OK, this is weird… I’m White. But I went with it. I ran, and I won, and when my race was mentioned in a Q&A with the candidates, I replied that my race didn’t matter, because we’re all fighting for civil rights. This is the same for Obama – in terms of whether he has the credentials to be president, race has nothing to do with it. However, you have to acknowledge that race exists. I was always blunt and straight-forward about my race and how it affected certain aspects of my leadership with the NAACP, and this honesty was appreciated. But I don’t think Obama is honestly addressing the needs of the Black community in his campaign, nor is he acknowledging the historic implications of his candidacy. He gave one speech on race, which was an amazing one, but it was given only because of the Rev. Wright controversy. I’m sorry, but it should not take some huge controversy to get our nation’s first major Black candidate to talk about race.
This opinion piece articulates what I’m feeling a lot better than I can. I can only imagine the difficulties Obama must face trying to balance his race with his role as a major party’s nominee; most recently, he felt he had no other option but to leave his church of nearly 20 years in order to appease White America. So I understand that this is incredibly difficult. But if you ask me, I think the struggle is worth it. Obama – you are walking through doors opened to you by the Civil Rights Movement so that you can open new ones for my generation.
Ellie Gunderson is a rising junior at Georgetown.