As an African American, I have strongly embraced the "post- racial" concept even before the first minority president was elected. In fact this concept, though not described with this term, has been an integral value in my family for as long as I can remember. I recall being taught not to always define an unfair incident as racism unless I have undeniable proof that is the case. My brother and I were taught not to blame "the man" for our circumstances but to simply do everything in our power to improve them. We were also taught to stand against unfairness or injustice no matter the race of the victim, for to not do so would be hypocritical of the very values that the civil rights movement stood for.
Therefore, in our adult life, we work hard to provide our families with a decent life. We volunteer our time in events that will both motivate and provide opportunities for others to reach the American Dream. In addition, we join in the fight to improve the lives of all Americans by talking to as many people as we can about the need for a public option in healthcare or nationwide improvement in our educational system. To me, that is what post-racial means. I define it as a society that will not stand for injustice, prejudice or inequality on the basis of race. If it is systemic, we will protest, organize or simply vote for individuals that will work to overturn any policies or laws that serves as the root cause. If it is from individuals, we will let them know that their views are inconsistent with our American values.
Nonetheless, I am beginning to worry that my definition of this term is somewhat limited. For it seems as if there are those out there that believe it means I should separate my identity from my past experiences. Since race relations are better now then they have ever been, I should not stir up the pot by addressing disparities or unfairness that, based upon evidence, could strongly be linked to racist attitudes. I should accept that the election of the first African American president means that all disparities faced by minorities must be due to bad decisions.
I note these points due to the media’s reactions to President Obama’s NAACP remarks. Yes, a significant section of the speech was a call for personal responsibility, however, that was not the overall thesis of his remarks. He, like many other notable African Americans pointed out that both the government and individuals must do their part to improve the current state of the African American community and all Americans in general. He supported this theme by discussing a series of great political policies including Promise Neighborhoods and the Race to the Top initiative. He addressed inequalities in the justice system and criticized mortgage lenders for disproportionately targeting Black and Latino neighborhoods. However, the only theme the media seemed to highlight was personal responsibility. Sadly enough, this was the case for both liberal and conservative media outlets. Whether it was Fox news or The Huffingtonpost, the headlines stated "No Excuses" which could easily cause a person that did not hear to speech to think President Obama simply repackaged and redelivered the infamous remarks by Bill Cosby to the NAACP in 2004. There was very little, if any, mention of the great policies he discussed or his acknowledgement of new forms of racism.
I point this out not to insinuate racism in the media, but to only express how disappointed I was that the overall essence of the speech was not embraced in the headlines or the news stories about the remarks. I viewed this speech as a celebration of what can be accomplished through perseverance as well as a redefining of the overall mission of the historical NAACP organization. However, the coverage of the speech made me feel as if I heard a different set of remarks.
With that said, I do want to note that I agree that we should not let our focus on race distract us from the need to unite on issues of healthcare, clean energy, or education. However, I hope that our desire to be a post-racial society does not cause us to divide over or ignore incidents such as a group of black kids being denied access to a pool or the possible execution of Troy Brown when the evidence suggests that he could be innocent. In addition, I hope that when I do express concern over situations such as these, that I am not stigmatized for doing so.
In closing, I will continue to embrace the principles of what I believe a post-racial society is. However, it does concern me that there are those that have started to use this concept as a means of pointing out our faults as African Americans WITHOUT also addressing injustices that are obviously racially motivated. I realize that race can not be transcended by embracing outdated, militant and divisive philosophies. However, it also can not be transcended by ignoring very real and substantial issues or by posing oversimplified personal responsibility arguments as the only solutions. Just like healthcare is an American issue affecting all of us, I would like to see issues such as the Innocence Project’s estimation that there may be 20,000 wrongly convicted persons in prison as also being an American issue. Then, in my opinion, we will be able to more accurately use the term "post-racial" to describe our great country.