It’s Because I’m Black, Isn’t It?

I love this picture of the Obamas!

I know the word “historic” has been bandied about a lot in the past few weeks, but there really is no other word that adequately captures the unique and unprecedented times in which we live.

Citizens of the United States have voted in a Black man as their forty-fourth president and, by so doing, have cast aside everything we thought to be true about racial stereotypes in that part of the world, how campaigns are funded and essentially, who Americans are.

Which is great! I admire the Obamas for even embarking on the long road which finally led them to the White House, for sticking to their guns and staying true to their ideals when most people thought they as much chance of success as the concept of flying pigs.

His overwhelming and undeniable success on the 4th of November – compared to the electoral debacle which took place in Florida eight years ago – means that, not only will Barack Obama’s name go down in the annals of history, but people in America and the world over are filled with genuine hope and enthusiasm, as opposed to the cynicism and apathy that usually attends politics.

Not that it matters now, or ever did in terms of me being able to cast my vote, but I must confess that I was not one of Obama’s awestruck supporters, or - as I like to call them - Obamaniacs.

I was put off by all the hype of celebrity endorsements by the likes of Oprah and P. Diddy, and by ambiguous talk of “change”. Sure, we all want change from American leadership on a national and international level, but it seemed to be nothing more than a vague strap line that meant everything in general, but nothing in particular.

Also quite off-putting for me was the curious influence his race seemed to have on proceedings. To a section of society it seemed to be much more important to vote him in because he was Black, rather than for having progressive policies to lead his country and indeed, the world through these troubled times. That got my back up, because I find it interesting how people are quick to tag discrimination by Caucasians as racism, while the same attitude from Blacks is somehow meant to be socially accepted. My thoughts are that those who supported him solely on the basis of his race are just as bad as the racists who did not, because they could not bear the thought of a Black man and his family living in the White House.

Anyway, all that is in the past now, and history has been made. Obama is now said to have “opened doors”, inspiring Black people (and by extension, I take that to mean all ethnic minorities) to achieve anything, and is a living, breathing testimony to the fact that the proverbial glass ceiling can and has been broken.

I wish Mr. Obama the very best. I truly am happy for him and hope he delivers, if for no other reason than to avoid disappointing his myriad of supporters. But I take umbrage at the perception that he has opened doors for people of colour everywhere.

If there is one thing I cannot stand it is people who love to play the victim and unfortunately, I find Black people particularly guilty of this. We bang on about slavery and racism and, as heinous as these crimes were and are, we often forget that we are not the only race that has been oppressed in times past, and that we owe it to ourselves and future generations to pick ourselves up and move on.

I was having this conversation with my brother the day after the U.S. elections, and he raised a salient point which I couldn’t possibly have articulated any better. Obama is said to have opened doors for all of us; who ever said they were shut?

The very reasons for Obama’s own success are his persistence and perseverance when the odds were stacked against him. He worked hard and smart, and had no qualms working his way up the ladder. He was fully aware that there were no shortcuts to achieving his dream and put in the time, effort, research and commitment that was required. He also never gave up, holding on to the firm belief that with his faith and moral values no goal was unattainable, and he publicly and firmly resisted the temptation to go down the normal route of digging the dirt and throwing mud at his opponents.

Sadly these traits are generally lacking in society as a whole and remain largely untaught to young Black people today. Where they are found, those who imbibe them are pilloried by their peers for attempting to take the moral high ground, for being too White. Black boys consistently under-achieve in schools because – the claim is – their needs are not met, fuelling feelings of inferiority. The vicious cycle goes on, and year after year the educational system churns out young men who feel the system owes them something.

Except of course, this is where they are wrong. The system doesn’t owe anyone anything; life is what you make it. The doors aren’t shut to us, we simply need to aim for the skies, be the best in whatever we do. Now I know that sounds glib and I know ‘making it’ is never near as easy as it sounds.

But how long do we intend to keep playing the race card, using the colour of our skin as an excuse to pass through life expecting handouts? Will we keep teaching our children that they naturally fall short, but can only get to the top if it’s handed to them on a silver platter?

Another alleged barrier to success touted around is the lack of successful Black role models. But I ask you this: when Anthony Hamilton was taking his son Lewis to go-karting competitions every weekend, were there any Black Formula One champions? Yet, the absence of these things did not stop young Lewis and his father from reaching for the stars and today, he is the youngest and most dynamic F1 champion.

What am I saying? That I do not deny racism exists, that there are still people narrow-minded enough to judge others on the basis of skin colour and hate them for it if they happen to have the ‘wrong’ one. But we will never know what we can achieve if we don’t try; we will never succeed if we are not prepared to do our homework and pull ourselves up that ladder, one rung at a time.

So as we all salute Mr. Obama and marvel at the wonder of his election, we are reminded that the doors have not just been opened for us; they always were. All we need to do is turn the handle and walk through.

Postcript 23 January 2009:

For those who argue for more positive role models as necessary inputs for success, have a look at this. I hope their example is inspiring enough and spurs you to action:

Black 1st family ‘changes everything’