Waiting for a racial messiah
“Obama is not our racial messiah.”
That’s what I told St. Petersburg Times reporter Eric Deggans last week when he interviewed me.
Seems like an obvious statement, right? Then why are we still looking to Obama alone to guide us in a so-called “national conversation about race?”
I’ve heard many folks express frustration that Obama hasn’t talked much about race since his “A More Perfect Union” speech.
But we can’t expect a single person to abolish racism once and for all. All of us play a part everyday, in big ways and small ways.
After all, a national conversation doesn’t happen unless we’re all participating.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Jin S. Chun Said,
December 3, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Hello Carmen. I recently discovered your blog. This is neither here nor there, but I lived on the same side of the hall in Shapiro with you back in the day as Columbia first-years (I shared a double with a FB player). You weren’t around much if I recall.
I think racism in America is a fairly irrelevant dynamic in America, at least in comparison to socio-economic status. To wit: “green hangs out with green.” I find this particularly true for the under-35/40 crowd we are a part of in our professional and personal lives.
Collectively, we all know that racism is not acceptable, and have had plenty of sensitivity training: going to school together and being the most well-traveled generation to date are huge factors. Ignorance/awareness should rapidly dissipate with little effort as this cohort (and younger) eventually become a greater proportion of the population.
Ultimately, no matter how “liberal” Obama’s inclinations are, his primary character is one of a profound pragmatist. At the end of the day I see he realizes he has no choice to focus on “fixing the economy” first. Although he has little training in this area hopefully his lieutenants come through to help manage this extraordinary crisis. If they are successfully, this in itself takes care of lots of ills. There is no better time to incite racism than when times are lean!
Ultimately, by quelling this economic crisis, that would enable strivers in this country to get ahead the old fashion way: holding oneself personally accountable to seek the best education possible, working hard and taking advantage of good fortune when it comes your way… just like Barack.
Regards,
Jin
Cheers,
Jin