One of the little
One of the little discussed topics that Barack Obama’s candidacy has exposed is the huge disconnect between the old guard leadership based in the Civil Rights struggles of the 50s & 60s (the "Old Guard"), most of whom, support Hillary Clinton, and the new generation of African Americans just barely born during that time and who came of age in a much more integrated era. They are the under 50 crowd I’ll refer to as the "New Guard".
It is the Old Guard, the likes of Andrew Young, Charles Rangel, John Lewis, Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson (the father) that has been the most resistant to Obama’s candidacy. They still hold alot of sway in the African American community. When they speak about race, it is the focal point of their lives and how they view the world and would construct public policy. They mostly speak in outdated terms and paradigms of black & white, north & south, the inner-cities, affirmative action, and constantly evoke memories of past struggles that younger African Americans know only through our parents and grandparents. Also included in the Old Guard is a benevolent white patriarch (or in Hillary’s case, a matriarch), that affirms their relevance, their world view. They clearly have succeeded passing on their world view to a large percentage of younger African Americans.
Obama, on the other hand, clearly represents the New Guard. He is a symbol of the fact that most African Americans under 50, while proud of being African American, are much less race-conscious then the Old Guard. Our experiences are much more diverse. We grew up with not just black and white, but brown, yellow and red and many colors in between. We live in the suburbs as well as the inner-cities, and we likely traveled much more of the world, most likely have had or currently have many intimate relationships and long, close friendships with those outside of the race. Many of us are multi-racial ourselves but the One Drop rule has always automatically classified us as African American.
Thankfully, we have not been hampered by the same humiliating experiences and injustices as those before us. To be sure...YES racism still exists and I still hear racist or incensitive comments on occasion but I would be lying to myself I were to deny huge progress. We are a post-Civil Rights generation. We are a generation that the Old Guard has done a poor job of representing and I don’t think they ever will be able to speak to us adequately.
An African American male born to a Kenyan father and a White Kansas mother, raised in Hawaii is exactly the kind of person that speaks to the New Guard. A figure that is proud of his race but transcends race. What I see in Obama is myself. His experience is largely my experience. He speaks to me in a way that Jesse Jackson (the father) or Al Sharpton never could. It is symbolic, but for me it is an important symbol. While we should be eternally greatful for the leadership and the sacrafices of the Old Guard, it is long past time for them to step aside.