Barack Obama’s election for me, just made my day
My eyes were glued to the TV all afternoon watching the news replaying the moment his election was announced, the scenes of jubilation in America (and Kenya!), tears rolling down Jesse Jackson’s face, the MAN himself, and that speech! I was crying and laughing at the same time and floated on this high to Home Group, wanting to talk about it and rejoice.
Julian brought up the subject
“I know you are not from Kenya, but Uganda is pretty close by. You must be really pleased about Obama’s election”
My eyes were glued to the TV all afternoon watching the news replaying the moment his election was announced, the scenes of jubilation in America (and Kenya!), tears rolling down Jesse Jackson’s face, the MAN himself, and that speech! I was crying and laughing at the same time and floated on this high to Home Group, wanting to talk about it and rejoice.
Julian brought up the subject
“I know you are not from Kenya, but Uganda is pretty close by. You must be really pleased about Obama’s election”
Me: “Yeah, it’s a good thing, not just for Kenyans, but for all black people everywhere”
Martin, says: “You mean it’s not a good thing for white people?”
He said it in such an aggresive way that I didn’t even bother to respond to him. I wished that I had gone to my black friends celebration, because they would appreciate this momentous occasion.
The fact is, racism exists in Britain, institutionalised, mostly subtle but sometimes outright. There’s this false belief that UK doesn’t have it as bad as the USA.
Unless you are from an ethnic minority group, you probably won’t be affected by it. Martin, being white middle class, wouldn't experience it at all!
A black friend once told me that in school when she went for guidance on pursuing a career in children’s social work, the careers advisor told her she was wasting her time and should consider a career in sports or music. Perhaps the advisor meant well, after all these 2 areas appear to be the places where black people make a success of things
Benjamin Zephaniah sums it up in his poem ‘Three Black Males’*
We are only in white nations
When we win them gold in sports
What if you aren’t gifted at sports or music? What’s the point in trying anything else?
The only role models we have in any positions of influence are a mere handful. And even they tend to distance themselves from our community, moving out to more ‘respectable’ (read…non-black) neighbourhoods, marrying and raising their kids ‘white’. The irony is that in this society, if you have ‘a drop of black, you is black.’ When the poor kids come out of their cocoon, they experience a culture shock because they discover that they are still victims of the stereotyping that their parent tried to get away from. And it hurts them worse, because they didn’t see it coming.
My pet peeve is when Africans change their name to something that sounds more ‘western’ to improve their career prospects. I was horrified when my niece changed her last name to ‘Brown’. Why on earth would you WANT to work in a place that won’t hire you because your name sounds foreign? Obama has proved that you can still rise to the highest office in a nation, in the world even, with a foreign sounding name?
So after this rant, how do I end this?
A black friend once told me that in school when she went for guidance on pursuing a career in children’s social work, the careers advisor told her she was wasting her time and should consider a career in sports or music. Perhaps the advisor meant well, after all these 2 areas appear to be the places where black people make a success of things
Benjamin Zephaniah sums it up in his poem ‘Three Black Males’*
We are only in white nations
When we win them gold in sports
What if you aren’t gifted at sports or music? What’s the point in trying anything else?
The only role models we have in any positions of influence are a mere handful. And even they tend to distance themselves from our community, moving out to more ‘respectable’ (read…non-black) neighbourhoods, marrying and raising their kids ‘white’. The irony is that in this society, if you have ‘a drop of black, you is black.’ When the poor kids come out of their cocoon, they experience a culture shock because they discover that they are still victims of the stereotyping that their parent tried to get away from. And it hurts them worse, because they didn’t see it coming.
My pet peeve is when Africans change their name to something that sounds more ‘western’ to improve their career prospects. I was horrified when my niece changed her last name to ‘Brown’. Why on earth would you WANT to work in a place that won’t hire you because your name sounds foreign? Obama has proved that you can still rise to the highest office in a nation, in the world even, with a foreign sounding name?
So after this rant, how do I end this?
If Obama’s election has achieved anything, it has shown the changing perceptions of black people in today’s world. I acknowledge that his rise was not a solo effort. Lots of people like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, the whole civil rights movement, even Condoleeza Rice, helped to pave the way for him.
Obama has challenged and overcome some of the stereotypes, and I have hope that my little black nephew, who is only 6 now, will have a better chance of pursuing his dreams. Who knows, these dreams may take him in the direction of sports or music (the last I heard I think it was super hero), but at least I know with such a powerful example of Obama, he’ll have the freedom to know that these aren't the ONLY options.
God bless Barack Obama. Keep him and family safe May he have a successful term in office. (Heck even 2 terms in office!!) Guide his decisions; surround him with advisors who want him to succeed, and not fail!
