Obamas Race the 2008 Election and the Dream of a Post-racial America Review
The Obama Presidency
The Myth of Obama's Post-Racial Presidency: Why Barack Obama's Election Didn't End Racial Inequality in America
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2015, Vol. 7 No. 02 | pg. 1/4 | »
The presidential campaign of Barack Obama was met with enthusiasm and controversy. If you were live and cognizant at the time, you understood the importance and historic value of the 2008 ballot no matter your position. Barack Obama, the Hawaii-born Senator representing the state of Illinois, was the first blackane candidate nominated past one of the 2 major political parties. Never earlier had there been a black candidate as viable to win the presidential election. The uniqueness of the Obama campaign led apolitical groups to actually get out and participate in the political procedure. The fervor surrounding Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race peaked in the months post-obit his win. America's turbulent history with race was said to take halted with the election of President Obama. Many asserted that because the American public elected a blackness man to the highest office in the state, barriers hindering minority groups had been struck downwardly. No longer were racial distinctions relevant to socioeconomic condition or accomplishment because the first non-white executive leader was also the showtime mail-racial president.
Some suggest that the election of Barack Obama has fulfilled the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. that all be judged based on character rather than the color of their skin. They point to his win as evidence that all Americans at present lay on equal footing in pursuit of success. These sentiments ignore the absence of Latino and Asian executives, in addition to the existing disparities between racial groups in terms of educational opportunities, income, and wealth. Moreover, they assume that simply having a black person fill an influential position results in improvements for all members of that racial grouping, regardless of whether policy implemented is targeted towards them. I notice contradictions between these assumptions and the reality we alive in today.
"Some propose that the ballot of Barack Obama has fulfilled the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. that all be judged based on character rather than the colour of their pare... [but] they assume that only having a black person fill an influential position results in improvements for all members of that racial group, regardless of whether policy implemented is targeted towards them. I find contradictions betwixt these assumptions and the reality nosotros live in today."
Top: President Obama in the Oval Office with a bosom of Martin Luther King Jr. in the foreground. Bottom: Outset Lady Michelle Obama at the Brown five. Board of Pedagogy National Historic Site. Photos: Pete Souza/White Business firm.
In this commodity I examine the premises of a post-racial social club in order to disprove that President Obama is indeed the first mail-racial president. The presence of 'colorblindness' within a gild is suppose to deem it post-racial, yet my analysis volition show that it simply encourages absorption instead of destroying racial barriers. Farther, meritocracy within color-blind and mail-racial theory is disproven by existing disparities between racial groups in wealth, housing, and education. Post-racial attitudes have non helped to close the gaps betwixt whites and non-whites, but take rather widened them.
Instead of 'race-witting' policy to address the asymmetric needs of racial minorities, support is only gained past 'race-neutral' policy. Barack Obama has led an agenda null of race-witting policy considering of the backlash he received in race-related events earlier and shortly afterward he entered function. Notably, his education reform lacks the equitable measures necessary to help the nearly disadvantaged students. Additionally, the Supreme Courtroom's recent rulings in schoolhouse enrollment and admissions policies, have removed affirmative measures at a fourth dimension when racial isolation and school segregation is growing. My analysis of the challenges people of color presently face will demonstrate that the declaration of Barack Obama equally America's first mail-racial president is anything but authentic.
Mail service-racial societies are the opposite of race-based societies. America has been a race-based guild since its inception. While the Declaration of Independence proclaimed that all men are created equal, the Constitution held that some were only iii-fifths of a person. The founding fathers as they are often chosen, just conceptualized rights and freedoms for wealthy white men similar themselves. They granted no protection nether constitutional dominance to slaves or the native population. Their political decisions have shaped the identity of us and created an diff society.2
Even later slavery was abolished and black men were granted the right to vote, racial bigotry was rampant throughout our nation. Separation past race and the inferiority of certain races were ingrained in the social fabric of united states of america. America prides itself on its liberty and freedom; however, it has systemically denied anyone who is not white their rights. Equally a race-based guild, the U.Due south. has not allowed anybody to pursue happiness undisturbed.3
Throughout our Race-based society, blackness people have experienced multiple periods of institutional boundaries set by their race. The starting time was slavery. The second came during the time of reconstruction. Jim Crow followed thereafter. And the Ceremonious Rights movement fought to achieve the political freedom and economic power only granted to whites. The success of black leaders to propel the blackness population out of their caste and create a more 'visibly' equal guild has led generations of whites since then to believe that America has become more off-white. 4 In today'south media, race relations are depicted every bit harmonious. Due to the visibility within the public of elite black individuals with political and economical clout, white Americans now view race equally less of a barrier. They believe that there is equal opportunity among the races to procure housing and employment, likewise as, mobilize into the middle form.v This belief ignores nowadays institutional racism and biases; moreover it feeds into the concept of colorblindness.
Colorblindness preempts a post-racial society. Given our nation's terrible history with race, it is understandable that some may want to revise past and nowadays transgressions. A world where race does not determine how a person is perceived or treated is ideal. Colorblind theory insists that the best manner to move past race is to immediately finish recognizing and talking virtually it. half dozen Numerous political theorists and scientists oppose colorblindness equally a strategy to transcend race considering it disregards the struggles of people of color today.
Colorblindness has origins in a Supreme Court ruling that divided the country by race. Plessy v. Ferguson affirmed the southern states' utilise of 'separate but equal' public accommodations. Justice Harlan gave a dissenting opinion in the decision stating, "Our Constitution is colour-blind, and neither knows nor tolerate classes among citizen."7 Harlan disregarded the many instances within the Constitution where individuals are treated differently based on their color. Current advocates of colorblindness continue the tradition gear up by Harlan in their arguments against policies such as affirmative activity.
Colorblindness contends that society, particularly government, should never take race into account. This theory relies on equal footing by all citizens to begin with, thereby making the use of race in policy always discriminatory. Strict colorblindness does not permit race to be used in promotion of diverseness. 8 Many Americans today believe that the use of race by the country unfairly or unnecessarily promotes racial multifariousness. Due to the increased relevance of colorblind theory, individuals in position of racial privilege are now less likely to positively view policy that isn't 'race-neutral.' 9 Colorblind and postal service-racial theories assess private potential in terms of merit.
Meritocracy describes a social system where wealth, jobs, and power are distributed based on merit. The system is considered merely and platonic because information technology only involves inputs that are attainable by all. Meritocracy is free of bias and encourages social mobility.10 The American dream hinders on meritocracy; that all are rewarded adequately for their difficult work. Colorblindness operates within a type of meritocracy disregarding racial hierarchy in socioeconomic opportunities. Post-racial theory imagines a gild without institutional racism, where existing racial barriers to upward mobility are removed. 11 Those who denote Barack Obama as the first mail-racial president likely view his election equally an individual achievement hands replicated by other blackness people willing to put in the work. In our supposed post-racial environment, achievement and failure are linked to individual try; systemic oppression and institutional discrimination are unaccounted for.
The greatest problem of the current post-racial society is that it doesn't exist. Simply assertive that racial barriers accept been cleaved doesn't mean that they have. There is statistical evidence that demonstrate the differences in privilege and opportunities betwixt racial groups. This information is ongoing and continues throughout President Obama'southward assistants. The disparities did not disappear once he was officially in function, nor did they lessen. The truth is all Americans are non rewarded justly for their work. Institutions still actively piece of work or passively allow discrimination confronting racial minorities. Whites have a greater advantage in the nowadays race-based society than all other racial groups. They lead non-whites in terms of income, wealth, and education.
The U.S. has maintained a plethora of racialized policies over the course of the nation's history. These policies have played a substantial part in the racial wealth gap. Such policies include: the appropriation of Native Americans' land, the sanctioning of African people for slave labor, the use of housing, educational, and economic segregation to isolate people of African descent, the utilize of citizenship status to marginalize Latinos, and the adoption of exclusionary laws to prevent Asians from purchasing land or owning businesses.12 The harmful effects of these policies continue with gimmicky discriminatory practices. The subprime mortgage crisis serves every bit 1 of the more contempo examples.
Household wealth dropped dramatically in 2009. The median net worth of U.Due south. households declined from $96,894 in 2005 to $70,000 in 2009. The pass up was not distributed evenly across racial groups. Non-white households experienced greater losses than white households. The unequal loss can be attributed to the greater dependence of minority households on dwelling equity equally a source of wealth.13 Whites have greater nugget diversity than people of colour do. The majority of white households accept 3 other asset types in improver to their chief residence. So even if white homeowners were subject field to the aforementioned type of discriminatory and predatory practices by lenders that targeted communities of color with faulty mortgages, they would not have experienced the same loss of wealth.
The Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University studied the wealth gap between white and black Americans. Researchers found that the present wealth gap between white families and blackness families is a balance event of historical underpinnings that is exacerbated past contemporary policy and tax that gives preference to the wealthy. The researchers studied the same prepare of near 1,700 families over the course of twenty-five years. During that fourth dimension, the full wealth gap between white and black household about tripled. Researchers tested a host of possible explanations for the large increase including, the labor market, family ways, and wealth characteristics. There was no substantial evidence to back up common claims of personal attributes or behavioral choices as causes of wealth gain or loss. The bear witness pointed to opportunities and barriers in workplaces, schools, and communities as sources or hindrances to wealth accumulation.14
Data used in the analysis derived from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a national longitudinal study conducted since 1968. The working-historic period households were tracked from 1984 to 2009.fifteen The report lacked in data collected or tracked from Latino, Asian, and immigrant households, so the specific focus is on the black-white carve up. All the same, the evidence gathered on black households can exist applicable to the dynamics of many communities of color.
Using statistical analysis, researchers sought to respond the question of 'why has economic inequality become and so entrenched in our mail-Civil Rights era of alleged legal equality?' To do this, an evidence-based approach was used to examine whether the expanding wealth gap was primarily due to private choices or cultural characteristics, rather than policies and institutions that create dissimilar opportunities for whites and blacks. The major findings of positive wealth growth were homeownership, family income, higher education, inheritance, and fiscal support from family. Additionally, the position of each family unit get-go in 1984, predicted a portion of the family'south wealth twenty-five years afterward.xvi
Homeownership accounted for the largest statistical divergence in relative wealth growth betwixt white and black families, at 27 percent.17 Past government design, black families are more than challenged at home ownership than their white counterparts. Home disinterestedness is determined in office by the demand of the expanse. The legacy of housing segregation has permanent effects. Blackness Americans, whose homes were located outside of the preferred white neighborhoods, had their home disinterestedness limited to a forced ceiling. They likewise suffered from denial of access to credit due to their lower incomes and racial discrimination. White families enjoyed greater advantages over black households with inheritances and assistance from family. Their historical wealth accumulation from land buying and other sources allowed for large downwards payments that lowered their interest rates and lending costs.18
Homes are the largest investments of the majority of American families. Homes account for the greater role of black families' wealth given their smaller investment portfolios. Becoming a homeowner is a great accomplishment for black Americans as they face prejudice and economic barriers throughout the process. Consequentially, housing communities today have de facto racial segregation. Black Americans are the near contempo class of homebuyers and are well-nigh vulnerable to foreclosure due to risky mortgages.19 When the housing crisis occurred, blacks suffered more than than whites considering the majority of their wealth was invested in high-risk properties instead of various assets.
The ideal investment portfolio of a family should consist of liquid, tangible, and fiscal avails. Liquid assets act as buffers during times of economic instability. They can exist easily turned into cash to provide the first line of defense to a family unit suffering a sudden hit to their income. Black households accept very little liquid wealth. On boilerplate, blacks had a median liquid wealth of $200 in 2011. Conversely, whites had an average of $23,000 in assets available for liquidity.20 The stark dissimilarity does not reflect the financial responsibility of either group, as there are minimal differences in the amount of their unsecured debts. Significance lies in the blazon of debt each grouping procures.
Black Americans are more probable than white Americans to have debts other than standard store and credit card bills. They have an increased need to borrow money to pay for schoolhouse and critical needs not covered past their income.21 Black households take diverse tangible avails such as cars, but they accept few financial assets. The majority of blacks only have a single financial nugget. While a majority of whites accept checking and retirement accounts, the majority of blacks simply accept checking accounts.22Rebuilding wealth among black families later on the recession is a far greater task than the recovery of white families.Connected on Next Page »
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