Race and the Race

Many people are afraid and don't know it - they are afraid of having a black man in the White House, a black family as the first family. It is hard to estimate their level - conscious or unconscious - and degree - racist or cultural - of discomfort, but many voters choose presidents based on identification with the candidates and their families.

When people voted for Bush they were seduced into thinking he's the guy they'd rather have a beer with - a "Joe Sixpack" kind of guy - rather than either of his stiff cerebral opponents. And they voted for Bush because he was an effective liar: he professed to be a compassionate conservative when he was neither - though he was compassionate for some of his favorite conservatives. Others voted for Bush because his team brilliantly tore apart all opposition, whether McCain in the 2000 primaries or Kerry in 2004.

There are many reasons people are afraid, and the economy is certainly front and center. Terrorism, the environment, and health care also contribute. But I think voters also have inner fears that they might not even recognize until they find themselves inside the polling booth. These fears are about otherness and blackness - despite wanting both new leadership and having faith in Obama. Voters may uncomfortable revealing their hidden worries about having a black president - whether to themselves or to their friends and family.

The New Yorker Magazine cover depicting Michelle and Barack as terrorists or black nationalists only served to drive those fears further underground, making them even more embarrassing to talk about. That mockery, now seen in the cruel spoofs of Governor Palin, reflects all that is wrong with "elitism" - relentless contempt for what is called Middle America.

With all this in mind, I think Obama can acknowledge and even respect such fears - and should do it during one of the last two debates. He can respond to some question about what he's learned or thought about while running. And he can say it in the way only he can - but something like this:

"I think that many people are still not comfortable with having a black president or a black first family. I understand that, and know that those feelings are hard to admit. And they may be more driven by culturally determined racial fears that are somehow natural to us all. Such fears make us reach back for the familiar even though we know in our hearts that America cannot afford more Bush policies, that a McCain-Palin administration would be disastrous.

"Well, I AM the race card. I do have a Black parent and a White parent. That is who I am, and these are my experiences. I have lived in both worlds and want to make it clear that this election is not about playing cards or games; nor is it about smearing the opposition. The stakes are too great. Our future is too important to be governed by fears and Republicans. My job is to take you to the truth about what we are facing, not to be cute about hockey moms.

"The truth is that we need a civility that does not grow itself on name-calling and fear-mongering. We need a truth that is based on facts, not on suppositions. And if you do cast your vote for me, I guarantee to do everything in my power to justify both your risk and confidence as together we move America into a new and exciting future."

Obama should also be prepared to answer McCain's attacks by explaining that he knows people want a president who is strong and who makes them feel they are in safe hands. He must clarify that strength is about responsibility and regulation. It is about respecting people who hold views different from his, rather than ridiculing them for not understanding. Such ridicule has nothing to do with genuine strength.

He needs to close with his vision for America's hopes and how we can all work together. That would be the reassurance needed after having confronted our culture-based fears.

Comments

[EvanWilson]

Great article Dr. Frank.

The optimist and idealist in me would like to think America has moved past the Bradley Effect, but the fact that we were stupid enough to elect G. W. twice brings out the pessimist in me. I can imagine there are a lot of people out there who've either been saying they support Barack Obama or they're still on the fence.... and when they go to vote on Nov. 4th, they won't be able to put a check next to a black man's name...

Some people here have said we need to have more open dialogue on race in America. But do you recall what it was like before Barack? Remember his speech and the resulting dialogue? Don't get me wrong. It seems to have faded. And we need more. A lot more. And more than just dialogue. But if anything, whether he win or lose on election day, Barack Obama has changed America for the better already. Let's just hope to God he's a good president.

[calamitygeorge]

Sen. Obama can defuse the racial tensions simmering in the campaign by reminding voters of the multiracial nature of his blood, his background and his message.

He is a black man, a son of Africa, but also a son of the white American heartland.

He is capable of bridging the divide because he is rooted in two cultures. He reaches beyond race.

He speaks to younger generations who are increasingly multiracial themselves, citizens of an increasingly multicultural nation. For them, racial fear and division is hardly an issue. He embodies what has come before him and what we can become. He is the salt of the new American earth.

[tommythegun]

The country isn't just voting for a "black candidate" but for Barack Obama. If it were another candidate, like Colin Powell for instance, race might not be so much of an issue. But the question is, to put it directly if rather inelegantly, what "kind" of black is Obama really? Let's not beat around the bush, a significant number of blacks believe, maybe not all of the time but certainly at least some of the time, that whites and maybe America itself are their enemies, who take every possible opportunity to oppress and persecute blacks. If many blacks didn't feel this way, Reverend Wright, Obama's spiritual mentor for 20 years, would not have been in business. Does Barack Obama believe this, even some of the time? It matters a great deal, when you're considering to whom we should entrust federal government, entrusted with the well-being and safety of millions, and having countless ways, large and small, to dispense reward and punishment. What will Barack Obama do with it? Who will he choose to favor and who will he choose to punish? When he will have to make a decision about protecting the country, can we say whether or not he'll hear the words of his pastor: "God Bless America? No, God Damn America!" Can we say for sure?

[LewDan]

What is it about white people demanding the black people must prove that they are American that is so self evidently reasonable? Whites never seem to question it. Gov. Palin was immediately accepted, even celebrated as an ordinary middle-class American. "One of us."

Just what in Mr. Obama's background makes him NOT of the ordinary middle-class? Except of course for the color of his skin?. Why do white people always think that it is imminently reasonable that the person suffering discrimination should of course be responsible for appeasing those who discriminate against him?

Unfortunately Sen. Obama seems to think that he is the equal to every other American. He has run his campaign as an American speaking to Americans. I don't think he is going to apologize for being biracial. I don't think he is going to put white minds at ease by assuring them that he is a "good" black man. I'm afraid that he will continue to demand the respect due him rather than beg you for it. God bless him.

[suznews]

This post really hits the nail on the head for me. A 63 yr old white female, who has supported Obama with all my heart and $, I hear the truth revealed in this post. I still clearly recall the terrible things my father spoke to the 4 yr old me as we drove through the poor section of the big city on Saturday mornings in the old wood-framed station wagon. How his words seared my soul with fear of black men.

How blessed I have been to have learned that my father's words were not truth - to have reached out my hand to a dear 7 yr old black girl in Big Brothers/Big Sisters and been embraced by her family. How blessed I have been to live in a city so calico that we are all uniformly different and cherished. But it would be dishonest of me to deny, that despite what both my heart and mind now know, that primal fear instilled in me at such a tender age. I do not know how to erase it.

I do feel it - a black in the White House. The words themselves suggest incongruence. It will be new and unfamiliar. But I will reach for that newness even as I confront my deepest being, and reach for the voting lever for Barack Obama for it is right in so many ways for our country.

[ScooterLiddy]

Thank you for your comment that truly rises to the level of Justin Frank's post.

[guppy711]

I totally agree. It is about time that race, racism and/or conditioning in the US be directly and openly addressed. This election is too important. The possibility that Barack Obama, a candidate and person of excellence who is well prepared to lead be denied votes on the basis of color and fear is beneath us as Americans and human beings.

[guppy711]

About time that race, racism and/or conditioning in the US be directly and openly addressed. This election is too important, and Barack Obama, a candidate and person of excellence, well prepared to lead be denied the possibility of winning based on color awareness and unfounded fear, rather than color blindness, confidence and trust.