Should We Elect a Black President?

By V. S. 

During Reconstruction, Americans began to elect black officials, create black businesses and new schools. It was as if, by doing these quick fixes we could get past the issue of racism and slavery. By simply passing a few amendments to the constitution, things could change. Now, as we face this time of post-Civil Rights, Americans are wondering whether it's time to elect an African-American president.

It is important to many Americans that we allow an African-Americans to get elected because then we would be doing the equivalent of shouting hurray by showing we are growing out of the slave thing. It's a way for us to pat ourselves on the back and claim that we are no longer being racist in our country. But I think it's a little misguided. We think that by electing African-Americans we can just run away from our legacy of racism and slavery.

I know we don't have slaves now, but we treat each other like we still do. Gang leaders telling people to fight, people still forcing a sensual relationship by tying up women and having a "sensual" relationship. People still murdering and hurting other people by means of whipping, strangling, torture. Companies take advantage of workers and act like they are just slaves. People round up immigrants like cattle. Children around the world still work in factories where they cannot leave. Mere children are forced into prostitution in some countries.

We act like we are over with racism, but the reality is we are not. Minorities are still called names. We still make jokes about it. They still do not have an equal voice in the media. But it's more than that. There is still the shame of being followed around in a store or knowing that you could never buy a home in "that" neighborhood. Or having cops harass you. I think choosing a black president is just an easy way to lie to ourselves and say, "the racism is over."

So, we are left with the question of whether we should elect a black president. Could Obama be elected? Should he be elected? Maybe. But we need to make sure we are not doing it to simply avoid the racism that still exists.