Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Civil Rights movement comes of age

Right/left politics completely aside here... this is a historic moment for the US and - because of its status on the international stage - the world. Congratulations on electing the first African-American president!

May the first female president be next


Wendy

Thanks, Wendy! It is an historic day. Yay for the minorities! Just wish a girl could have made it, but then again, blacks got the right to vote long before women did, so that's fair, I suppose.

Let's all go out for drinks - can Obama pick up the tab?

Needless to say, I am thrilled and giddy. And I'll admit I cried.

I stood in line with a man this morning that was born into segregation. He was telling me about how he couldn't play white teams in football when he was younger.

I think at that moment I realized how historical and lucky I was to be standing with him to vote. How much we have changed!!

And because I can't resist.



"We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --

Yes. We. Can." - Barack Obama, 44th President Elect of the United States of America

Wow! During the civil rights movement both whites and blacks were beaten and killed to prevent blacks from voting. Then LBJ signed the Voting Rights Bill, the right thing to do, saying that it would probably cost the Democratic Party southern support for a generation.

Either that time has passed or no one told North Carolina or Virginia.

Lee Greenwood said it best, "I'm proud to be an American."

My thoughts exactly! Regardless of my opinions on politics or rather politicians I think this is a great step forward for America. Congratulations to Obama in becoming the first black president of America. Like Wendy I hope that a woman will be next.

Since no one has pointed out the obvious, I guess I will...

First of all, Obama is as white as he is black. His black father ditched his family and he was raised by the white half.

More black people came out and voted than ever before... they couldn't wait to vote for BO because he was "black." I've heard the interviews. I have black friends who admitted that they "had" to vote for Obama. I guess I'm not surprised by that.. it's just a lousy reason to vote FOR or AGAINST someone. I'm having trouble seeing that as progress.

I am NOT thrilled that so many people voted for BO for extremely superficial reasons.,,, he's tall, looks good, speaks well (just don't take him away from the TelePrompTer) is black (well, half black), and VERY important to some, has "D" by his name.

I know there are some people who actually think socialism (for example) and BIG government is going to "fix" their lives and they KNOW what they voted for.

But sadly, too MANY didn't have a CLUE. They have no idea how our economy works and what BO's ideas might actually do.

And shame on our media for keeping people ignorant of so many issues. Shame on people who just wanted to get back into power and didn't mind lying to do so.

I'm just glad BO is not going to be a dictator - even if he thinks he's all powerful. We have checks and balances here... thank goodness.

I think that because his appearance obviously reflects more of his black heritage than his white heritage, he probably always has had to and always will face the challenges that other "completely black" people have to deal with. And I'm sure that, to those who might unfortunately judge others based on their skin colour, they wouldn't take Obama's "white half" into account and feel that he's a better person than someone who's "completely black" just because he's got Caucasian blood in him.

Well, he's not exactly the first person to be accused of using their appearance to attract votes, is he? Sarah Palin, anyone? Okay, so she lost. But there's also JFK, Ronald Reagan, the list goes on.

This I understand and agree with, but I'm sure that the people who voted blindly just because of Obama's skin colour didn't win him the election. I have a little more faith in people than that. Sure, the world's not at the point yet where everyone's an informed, well-researched voter (or even at the point where everyone votes, if we ever get there) but I do think we're making progress. Electing a black man into the White House, regardless of "how black" he is, would never have happened even as recently as 30, 40 years ago, IMO, so I think this is huge progress.

America can be justifiably proud of herself today.



As I've said elsewhere, I have a healthy distrust of and disrespect for most politicians, so I greatly surprised myself by bursting into tears when the election coverage passed the 270 mark!

Like Wendy says, leaving all the rest of it aside, whether he'll live up to expectations, be the best President ever or the worst, I just think it's such a wonderful, amazing thing that an African-American is your President today. Something that I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.

I think quibbling over how 'black' he is is faintly ridiculous, Captivated2, and I'm sorry that you can't put aside your partisanship and bias just for one moment to acknowledge the huge achievement this has been for your country and for Obama. I'm sure there were many Republican who voted for Palin because she's a 'hockey-mom', is 'folksy' and shoots moose - and many other, just as spurious reasons.

Talking of which - I have to admit that McCain's concession speech was deeply moving and very gracious. It didn't quite make up for what was, imo, an outrageous and nasty campaign, but it did go some way. I heard a lot of people talking about the 'real McCain' coming back and for the first time I did see the man of honour and integrity that people kept saying he used to be.

LabRat

Have to agree with you on that one, Labby. I never thought I would see the day either.

Jamse

I was moved by McCain's speech as well, at least what I heard of it. It was a very gracious concession.

Obama's speech also moved me, especially when he spoke of the 106-yr-old black woman who, when she came of age, couldn't vote both because of her gender and the color of her skin. So much change since then!

The thing is, that doesn't always make much of a difference. It used to be that if you had a drop of black blood in you, you were considered black, no matter how white your skin was. We've come a long way since that time.

Greetings from the very deep South, my fellow Folcs! From a state every bit as red as Superman’s cape...

I have two cents or more to toss in. All of it merely my opinion, grain of salt included, disclaimer and etc.

Born and raised in Georgia, I know it doesn’t matter that President-Elect Obama is half-white. It’s not the family tree people see when they look at him. It’s the skin color.

And the reality of his skin color is that it signals, in some, assumptions and stereotypes and even fear. The most difficult of these to combat are the unconscious assumptions; that sort of ‘soft bigotry’ which probably doesn’t recognize itself as such, because it’s so unconscious. It’s under the skin, in the bone, steeped in the culture. But it’s very much there.

For this reason, I was afraid to hope-- despite what the polls said and what the projections were. But, also for this reason, I kept my kids out of school and took them with me to the voting booth yesterday. I wanted them to see history. To be able to tell their kids and grandkids they ‘helped’ pull the lever. (There was no lever. It was a button, but still...)

And what I really hope and believe is because our new President has brown skin, future generations will grow up with his portrait on classroom walls, his image in textbooks, and eventually on the dollar bill (heh), and that unconscious bigotry-- so much a part of the tapestry of the old South, and probably other places too-- will erode away.

Now all that said, it’s not his color that won this election, lest that be suggested. It was the Economy . And Obama’s smart, steady, and even-keeled campaign.

I absolutely do not envy him the task ahead. But I’m very proud of my country today!

(And am a member of the Thrilled and Giddy constituency.)

CC

Alright, I've been pretty quiet in these threads for the most part because I hate all the arguing and sensitivity that comes with politics, but if you're going to play the race card like that then I can't keep quiet any longer.

Please do not diminish what a huge accomplishment this is for the minority and mixed race community by pointing out that he's half white. It really doesn't matter. America doesn't see that, just as they don't see the mixed heritage of people like Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard, Tina Turner, or even Tiger Woods. It's really not the point.

Quote

More black people came out and voted than ever before... they couldn't wait to vote for BO because he was "black." I've heard the interviews. I have black friends who admitted that they "had" to vote for Obama. I guess I'm not surprised by that.. it's just a lousy reason to vote FOR or AGAINST someone. I'm having trouble seeing that as progress.

I agree that race or gender isn't a reason to vote for someone. However, just because you have black friends that voted for Obama because of his heritage does NOT mean that the entire black community voted for him for that reason and frankly, you suggesting as such is hugely insulting. Had you considered that there is probably a percentage of white people that voted for him just because he's black as well?

More people of all races came out to vote yesterday because it was arguably the most important election of our time. I won't say that race had nothing to do with because I'm sure that's not true for a lot of people. But you cannot make generalizations like that, not and expect not to be called on it.

So while I still remember it:

It was!!!

Yes!!!

Me too!

Me either.

You should be!!!

It's amazing to think of.

And thanks, Jojo, for the quote from Barack Obama's extremely moving and beautiful victory speech. That is one that will go down in history. And you know what? There are so many Republicans who believe in the same things that Obama expressed today. I don't see why John McCain couldn't have said the same thing.

It was a lovely, moving, beautiful tribute to America.



Ann

This is indeed an historic day for the US. And although he is not the candidate for whom I voted, I think he is sincere in wanting America to be better. I can support an honest man, which I believe Barack Obama to be.

When I was in high school in Louisiana, the state desegregated the public schools in the parish. (That will give you an idea of how old I am!) I had been raised mostly in Ohio, and my father's work in the Air force brought us in contact with other ethnic groups all the time, so it was no big deal to me to let the black kids come to class with us.

During a school assembly where the teachers and administrators were doing their best to make sure we didn't have daily riots, I said to myself (but aloud), "I don't see what the big deal is. What's wrong with letting everybody go to the same school?"

An upperclassman - whose build suggested that he carried farm tractors around the homestead for fun - heard me and said to me, "You sound like a n--lover. You wanna get whupped?" or words to that effect. Since me fighting this guy would have been tantamount to suicide, I kept silent. But it brought home to me the point that people learn to hate others without learning anything about those 'others.'

The first time I rode down the main road in that small city, we stopped at a traffic light and I gawked at all the different things around me and marveled at how different Louisiana was from Ohio. And I saw a dry cleaner's with the sign above it saying "Whites only." I asked my mother why the store didn't dry clean yellow or red clothes and she thought I was kidding.

I wasn't. She had to explain to me that it meant that black people couldn't go in there. It made me angry to know that these dumb hicks thought so little of some of their fellow citizens.

I don't care what a person's outer shell looks like. I want to know if he or she will keep his or her word. I want to know if I can depend on that person when troubled times come. And I want to know if that person will tell the truth no matter what the personal cost.

I will judge President Obama by his actions, not his heritage. And I hope that my fellow Americans will do the same thing, whether they voted for or against his skin color or his politics.

I wasn’t sure who I wanted to see win - so, like Labby, I was a little surprised to find tears in my cynical eyes when Obama won. I guess we’ll just have to see how Obama does. He certainly is facing a lot of challenges. I don’t envy him his job. But putting partisanship aside, or what type of President Obama might make, I heard this morning a quote that I thought summed up really well what transpired last night:

“Rosa Parks sat down so that Martin Luthor King could walk. Martin Luthor King walked so that Obama could run. Obama ran so that our children could fly.”

I think that was the thought behind what brought tears to my eyes. Or maybe I’m just becoming a sentimental old fool .

ML

Well... I cried too. But for a completely different reason.

I'm feeling many things about this election. One of them is perhaps a sense of pride that America is getting over its prejudice.

Another is one of frustration. I wish race wasn't an issue at all. I think we have a lot more growing to do as a country.

I'd like to see a day when a black man can run for President and it not even be brought up that he's black. I'd like to see the issues be the only thing that matters.

I do think that Obama has the country's best interest at heart and that gives me hope. But I can't feel like our country has made a giant leap forward when there are so many moral issues at stake (abortion, gay rights, etc.).

I wish Alan Keys could have won. <sniff> I would have been VERY proud to have him as our President.

When Obama got the nomination I thought, this is a good thing. It will be good for AAs to be inspired. May-be this will help eliminate affirmative action and whining about discrimination as an EXCUSE not to take responsibility...

As a "symbol" I still think that it's progress.

But then I got to know Obama... his record... his associations... his wrong-headed ideas about the economy... and I have LITTLE "hope" that the "change" he is offering will be good for the country. Quite the opposite.

Of course, part of the "history" being made here is that a shockingly inexperienced man, whose campaign consisted of rhetoric that sounded good, but was so VAUGE, people can just pour their own meaning into it... that such a person actually got elected is a first.

What I HOPE is that BO will get a reality check and CHANGE his mind. That he will not be a weak pacifist, inviting another attack on this country... that he will NOT be as SOCIALIST and LIBRAL as his record indicates him to be... that we will not have his ignorant ideas about taxes turn this recession into a depression...

I HOPE I'm wrong, but if Obama doesn't CHANGE his mind, he could very well make history by taking Carter's place as the WORST president the country's ever known...

Actually, no it isn't. I understand that Abraham Lincoln was just as inexperienced when he became President and as for vague rhetoric...you could charge most politicians on that count. I didn't hear much of what McCain was promising either - his campaign seemed to consist mostly of propaganda about what Obama would do.

Anyway, it's a waste of time re-visiting campaigns, so...moving on...

You know, I understood what a momentous thing this was at an intellectual level, but it really struck me at an emotional level when I was watching the news earlier.

In amongst the footage of joyous celebration a small African-American girl stood, vigorously waving an American flag and chanting "Obama!". I doubt she really understood it all, but when I saw her I realised that she was about the same age as Obama's youngest.

What will it mean to that little girl to see someone who looks just like her, who is her race, who is her age, growing up in the White House? To see a man who looks like her father in charge of America?

That, I think, will be the real triumph here. The inspiring of a whole generation of African-Americans to dare to reach further and higher than their parents ever could.

LabRat