Can We Please Stop Talking About Race

Two days after the election the media continues to talk about the historic nature of having the first African-American elected President. We talk about this as if it would have never happened. African-Americans around the country are joyous in their exuberant celebrations. Yes, it is historical and yes it is important and reason to celebrate, but am I the only one not surprised it happened? African-Americans have made astronomical progress over the past few decades in all fields, not just politics. Douglas Wilder was the first African American elected Governor to a state (Virginia) in the 1990s. However, when this barrier was broken, it never got the media coverage as Obama's election while it was every bit as important. Today, there are two African-American Governors, Deval Patrick (Massachusetts) and David Patterson (New York). Although Barrack Obama is the only current black Senator, there are 42 African-Americans in the House. Clarence Thomas sits on the Supreme Court and the past two Secretary's of State were black (Colin Powell and Condollezza Rice). However, the media nor did the African American community make a fuss over these appointments. Part of the reason is because Thomas, Powell, and Rice are Republicans and supposedly the enemy of minority progress in this country. This of course is a fallacy. Recently, when blacks were given the opportunity to elect African-Americans into prestigious offices they choose not to and instead vote in the 'right' political party. In the 2006 elections, blacks had the opportunity to elect Michael Steele Senator of Maryland, but 75% of the black vote backed the white Democratic candidate, so Steele lost. Blacks also had the opportunity to elect Lynn Swann Governor of Pennsylvania but opted to back the white Democratic candidate. In Ohio blacks also had the opportunity to elect Ken Blackwell Governor, but once again opted to elect the white Democrat instead. If Barack Obama had been the Republican Candidate in this election, he would have lost because minorities would have turned their back on him. The media and Civil Rights Leaders would have condemned Obama just as they did to Clarence Thomas. It is true that Democratic candidate Harold Ford lost his bid to be Senator of Tennessee in 2006. He lost in a very tight race by running as a moderate. Although blacks supported him, Tennessee is a very conservative state. Deval Patrick was the only black candidate for Governor or the U.S. Senate to get elected in 2006.

My point is: I am not surprised we have an African-American President today and I think it could have come sooner if Black Leaders united all African-Americans. I have seen many qualified African-American candidates running for the highest state offices and do well. I have seen African-Americans appointed to the highest courts and cabinet offices. If Harold Ford can almost win in Tennessee, blacks could do well in any state. I also felt that many barriers would have been broken down sooner if the Black Civil Rights leaders did not tell African-Americans to turn their backs on qualified candidates of color such as Steele, Blackwell, or Swann just because of their political affiliation. Barriers could have been dismantled if Black Civil Rights leaders celebrated the victories of Thomas, Powell, and Rice like they did with Obama instead of treating them like "Uncle Toms" and the enemy. Anyone who follows politics should not be surprised we have an African-American President. Unfortunately, the only thing that kept it from happening sooner was black leaders insisting the candidate come from one party and one party only. Blacks have had a lot of opportunities to get more representation in government but opted not to unite solely because of their political affiliation. It as if an African-American is only an African-American if they are a Democrat. Republican African-Americans are viewed as traitors because this is what the media and black civil rights leaders have brainwashed the black public into believing.

Jesse Jackson had some success running for President in 80s. He was able to unite and get a large portion of the black vote. However, he was not able to sway white voters for a number of reasons other than racism and bigotry. First, he was not qualified to do the job, he had very little executive or government experience. Secondly, he alienated many by using racial slurs against the Jews and they are big part of the Democratic electorate. Third, he alienated other whites because his version of civil rights was much more combative than those of Martin Luther King.

Can we finally move on and not act so surprised we have a black President. It is insulting, we act as if the African-American people are not competent enough to have this job. This is ludicrous, there are plenty of qualified African-Americans to be President. In fact, I think there are many much more qualified than Obama.