Race, Ethnicity and the Obama Presidency

by David W. Lind

Bar Harbor

After President Obama's first State of the Union address, Chris Matthews of MSNBC remarked, "I forgot he was black."[1] Senator Harry Reid remarked in 2008 that Barack Obama was "light skinned...with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."[2] Are these remarks racist? Perhaps, it depends upon how one defines racism.

I've worked on civil rights issues for decades. In the early seventies, I did graduate work in human relations at the University of Oklahoma but completed my masters degree in mathematics and computer science at the University of Arkansas. My graduate advisor during my studies in mathematics was born and raised in Taiwan. I've been privileged to work with and for people of other races and lived in the South of the United States for almost a decade. This experience allows me to make some informed comments on race and ethnicity. However, my comments are from the perspective of a white person of Northern European descent. I cannot speak for people of other races or ethnic backgrounds.

Dr. Ma, my graduate advisor at the University of Arkansas, decorated his office with Chinese scrolls. They were skillfully painted pictures of China with calligraphy augmenting the scenes. There is a natural human tendency to impress others. I memorized a number of Chinese calligraphic characters. After one of my sessions with Dr. Ma, I read the characters on one of the scrolls for him. He looked at me quizzically and said, "You have the characters right but the meaning wrong."

When we consider race and ethnicity, we often get the characters right but the meaning wrong. I will address race and ethnicity issues in this commentary in a frank and brutal manner. The points of view I express are mine alone and do not necessarily represent "established science." However, I hope the reader will be inspired to think carefully about these subjects.

Racism is generally defined as having two components. First, is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human characteristics and ability. Second, is that a particular race is inherently superior to other races.[3] These concepts can be applied to ethnicity as well. Before the Second World War, many intellectuals in the United States professed that people originating from Northern Europe were vastly superior to people from Mediterranean countries. The United States Congress passed legislation limiting immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. Immigration from Africa was unthinkable. Ships carrying Jews were actually turned away from U. S. soil. The United States was to be a nation of high achievers of Northern European stock based upon the concepts that race and ethnicity were the primary determinants of ability and that Northern European stock was vastly superior to all other peoples.[4]

Most of us may find these beliefs offensive. However, they are a part of our history and deeply inbred in our psyches. These concepts have been used for thousands of years to degrade and deride people of other races and ethnicity to the point that people of "inferior" stock are conditioned to accept their inferiority. Those of us from "superior" stock have a tendency to reinforce these feelings of inferiority through our prejudicial behavior either through blatant discrimination or by patronization. Worse yet, we may use people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds for our own purposes. Often, this abuse is not conscious. We are so conditioned to accept the concepts of racism that we do not recognize our behavior as inappropriate and the victims of our ignorance accept our behavior as normal and inevitable.

Consider the life of Booker T. Washington. He was a famous educator and civil rights leader. Let's look at statements that could be made about him. First: "Booker T. Washington befriended George Eastman, the founder of Kodak, and with his help founded a major university." This statement is fairly innocuous from a racist viewpoint because it does not associate Eastman or Washington with a particular race. However, it implies that Washington needed the help of the founder of Kodak because he was not up to the task himself.

Consider the statement: "Booker T. Washington was a famous black educator and civil rights leader who founded a famous university." Again, this statement is not obviously racist but what is the purpose of identifying Booker T. Washington as black? Would we say that "Louis D. Brandeis was a famous white justice of the United States Supreme Court after whom a famous university is named?" Not likely. However, virtually every mention of the accomplishments of Louis Brandeis identifies him as Jewish. Why? We, and I mean all of us, are conditioned not to expect blacks or Jews and other "different" people to accomplish great works. When they do, we consider it notable. After all, neither Washington nor Brandeis are of Northern European stock.

When people have great accomplishments they should be recognized for the merits alone. Identifying their race or ethnicity diminishes the accomplishments by implying that one would not expect such abilities based upon their inferior race or ethnicity. "Obviously," a progressive thinks, "they needed help but we'll not acknowledge their deficiencies in the interests of promoting social justice." This attitude is blatantly racist but few people recognize it as such. It is not wrong to identify people's race or ethnic background when writing a biography but one should not diminish their accomplishments by implication through emphasis of their race or ethnicity.

From my point of view, the remarks by Chris Matthews and Senator Reid are racist remarks. However, I will not characterize either of these people as racists. I don't know enough about either of them to make such a determination. We must keep in mind that racism is inbred to some extent in all of us. Once in a while, the demon of racism manifests itself. Our behavior over time determines to what extent we are controlled by our demons.

Before I go on, I want to dispel a myth. The United States is often characterized and derided as being a racist nation. This characterization does not distinguish the United States from other nations. I will assert that most, if not all, other nations are worse than the United States when it comes to racism and ethnicity. How many black officials can you name in the French or British governments? Both countries have a significant number of black citizens. The United States is much more progressive in the arena of civil rights than most other nations.

President Barack Obama is the delight of latent racists. One can compliment him while slamming his race, which was the effect of the remark by Chris Matthews. A good progressive can put the President in his place by noting that he is a "light-skinned black" and "has no Negro dialect, unless he wants to have one." Recently, several pundits remarked that the President was "half white." Is that half Northern European? Probably. A genealogist in Massachusetts recently asserted that Senator Scott Brown is related to President Obama ten generations back.[5] Both are descended from Richard Singletary a town selectman of Salisbury and Haverhill, Massachusetts in the 1650s. Popular culture has us all separated by six degrees of separation. One could probably show that I am related to the President. How can President Obama be such a good orator? How could he have been a Harvard professor? It must be his white side! These observations are rooted in racism and are the work of latent racists seeking to justify their inner demons.

There is no convincing evidence that one race or ethnicity is superior to another. Race and ethnicity do play a role in an individual's development. If they did not, there would be no racism. Unfortunately, many people prefer to identify strongly with their race or ethnicity because they know what to expect from such a relationship. Moving beyond this identity entails risk and the need to adjust to new ideas that may seem incomprehensible. It is fear of the unknown, lies and ignorance that feeds racists and their victims.

However, many people transcend the constraints of racial and ethnic identity. Countless people have overcome their fear and explored possibilities considered unattainable by those who would stereotype racial and ethnic groups. Their success belies the basis of racism and ethnic-based prejudice. They deserve respect and encouragement, not snide, deprecating remarks no matter how well intentioned or well worded.

This discussion leads me to some observations about racism, ethnicity and the Obama presidency. Is President Obama black or white? Does it matter? Yes, it does matter to racists. Should it matter? No, it shouldn't from an academic, that is, theoretical point of view. In the words of the great German intellectual, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, "Grau, teurer Freund, ist alle Theorie Und grün des Lebens goldner Baum. (Dear friend, all theory is grey and the golden tree of life is green)." That is, the reality of our life experiences is much more vivid and exciting than academic theory. Race does matter, not only in the United States, but throughout the world.

President Obama is a heroic figure in Africa. For the first time in recorded history, a black man is the most powerful person in the world. His shinning image may fade as he acts in a manner expected of a stereotypical white man or black man. We already see President Obama accepting many of the hated policies of the George W. Bush administration. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue. Gitmo is still open and not likely to close in the near future. Few victories can be claimed. President Obama is facing a reality not often encountered by his former colleagues at Harvard Law. He is not acting as a black man or white man but as President for which he should be commended not condemned.

Those folks who perceive Barack Obama as black, expect him to behave accordingly. Some of these people see President Obama as an inferior being, but an inferior being that is in their pocket. This point of view is reinforced by the fact that Barack Obama is a product of the Illinois, or more specifically, the Chicago political machinery. Chicago politicians are expected to remain loyal to the corrupt political machinery that provides endless fodder for yellow journalists in Illinois. There will be members of the United States Congress of all parties who will view President Obama in this manner and react accordingly. If President Obama does not live down to their expectations, they will attempt to put him in his place.

Then there are the progressive politicians who view President Obama as black. They may give lip service to the concept that President Obama is a well-educated and articulate leader. But, inwardly they see him as an inferior being that requires their patronage. These people will go to absurd extremes to promote and accept President Obama's proposals because they are so blinded by their desire to patronize him that they don't understand the basics of the proposals. They assume that President Obama will not propose acceptable ideas and pervert what the president proposes. This perversion has occurred to some extent in the debate within the Democrat Party over health care legislation. The Republican Party is blamed for this situation in large measure because no one is willing to admit that racism is a cause of the trouble. Even the President has expressed dismay at being victimized by Republicans but he is actually being victimized by racists in his own party. Of course, there are racists in the Republican Party but they are not in a position to influence the debate within the President's party in a significant way.

President Obama may see himself as a victim of racism. Racists may attempt to discredit him or patronize him. None of this behavior is functional. President Obama must be viewed as neither black nor white. He must rise above the perception that he is a victim of race and a servant of a corrupt political machine. President Obama is the primary world leader with more power and authority than any world leader in the history of the world. We must respect him, debate his policies, develop consensus and keep racial allusions out of our statements and thoughts. He is our president. I can only hope and pray that he will be above the pettiness of racial and ethnic politics and that the rest of us can control our demons. The future of the world is at stake.