It is hard to ignore it in this campaign. Race.
For the first time ever, we have a presumptive nominee who is an African American. There is no escaping it. Race.
Senator Obama delivered nothing short of an inspiring speech about it. Race.
But don’t we live in a colorblind society? Shouldn’t race be inconsequential? No. And no.
Race matters. Not in the way you hear on the news: Sen. Obama has an Appalachian problem; Ed Rendell says that there are people in PA who will not vote for a Black man; White women will not vote for Obama; Blacks support Obama at a higher rate than they did even for Bill Clinton because Obama is Black. Race matters because it has been ignored for far too long and racial prejudices have been allowed to fester and necrotize. Only by bringing it front and center will we, as a nation, finally confront racial prejudices.
We are all prejudiced in one way or another. I dare say that every White person harbors biases and prejudices, just as I do, against African Americans. That is not the real problem. Denial is the real problem. Only by acknowledging our prejudices can we do something about them.
Over my adult lifetime, I can’t even begin to count the number of conversations I have had that begin, "I’m not prejudiced..." And what is the next word? You all know it. "But." But what, I ask? Is that some sort of code that then gives the speaker license to make a prejudicial observation? "I’m not prejudiced, but those Blacks sure make a lot of noise at the mall." "I’m not prejudiced, but if those Blacks would stop doing drugs and shooting each other, they would be more successful."
Or rather is "but" a word of shame; that the speaker is ashamed of his or her prejudices on the matter and is looking for solidarity with the listener on the basis of race, as if it becomes more acceptable when more than one person lives in racial denial.
I will not share that denial. I am a White male, and I am prejudiced. But what distinguishes me from so many others is that I see my biases for what they are – irrational fears – and that I choose to do something about them. Each of us must stop denying our prejudices that grow out of our fears. We must think about them. We must develop strategies to overcome them. And we must use those strategies every time we are confronted with situations involving race.
This is one reason why it is so important that Senator Obama becomes our next president. It will give so many Americans the opportunity to acknowledge and confront their prejudices and to consciously overcome them, one at a time, whenever they arise. Let’s not blow it.