An Obama Wake Up Call

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and tomorrow President Elect Barack Obama will be sworn into office. It seems like the whole world is in a tizzy about it and rightfully so.

News networks are taking continuous advantage of the happy coincidence of MLK's birthday (observed) falling the day before the first African-American president takes office. They keep drawing parallels between Dr.King and Obama. They continuously show still shots featuring phrases like "A Dream Realized" beneath Obama's face.

I'm sorry, but was Dr.King's dream to have a brown complected person in the White House? The media's constant harping on how a dream has been fulfilled reminds me of a snide remark a racist made to me on election day.

On November 4, 2008 I got swept up in a fit of dizzy elation and made the mistake of posting about my excitement on an online community that really has nothing to do with politics. I was just so excited I wanted to share my feelings with all of my friends, including my on-line friends. On the one hand most people responded positively, people from all over the world; on the other hand, the one American to respond, a republican from Georgia, said and I quote, "I'm glad people can shut-up about racism now."

I'm sorry, what? I didn't respond to her because I'm tired of having to teach ignorant, privileged people about the nature of racism. With her remark this person managed to imply number one, that complaints of racism have no basis in reality, and number two that the election of a black president is somehow proof that outcries against racism are unfounded.

I shouldn't have to say this but let me be clear just in case: racism is alive and potently real. It is now more insidous and subtle than ever before. The activism of the sixties and seventies drove it underground and forced it to disguise itself, but it is real nonetheless.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is no way that a black man could have been elected president in America forty years ago. I recognize that as a nation we have made incredible progress. This recognition is why I cried when Obama won the election--the idea that it could happen, nay, that it did happen, absolutely overwhelmed me with joy. I felt hope for the future, for a future without bigotry. We're not where we need to be but Obama's story tells me that we are headed in the right direction. Let's say we've got a one way ticket to equality and we're well on our way!

So my mind boggles at the fact that people are acting as if, with the election of Obama, we have arrived.

Have HIV cases among African-American women suddenly declined?

Has the high school drop out rate of blacks suddenly declined?

Are black people no longer over represented in ghettos and low income neighborhoods?

Are black people no longer over represented in prisons (which by the way has lead to the disenfranchisement of many, many black men)?

The answers to all of these questions is no.

I know people are excited but let's not get carried away.

We still have a lot of work to do. Barack has talked about the need for every American to take responsibility and contribute to rebuilding of the American brand so to speak. In the "I have a dream" speech Dr. King talked about the urgency of the moment, of the necessity for action. He talked about issues that still face our people today. America has not resolved these issues by putting a black man in the oval office. Perhaps black children will be more likely to finish school due to Obama's inspirational success story. Perhaps due to Obama's success black people will avoid the racist justice system altogether by working legitimately within the system instead of on the fringes of it. I think America might finally be able to finish the journey toward equality and maybe Obama will be the one to lead us there. I sincerely hope that he is.

But I want us all to remember, that the dream will transform into a reality under the pressure of our collective hard work and not just because of the color of our president's skin.

copyright © January 19, 2009 by Sha'Donna A. Woods, All Rights Reserved