Barack is In - What's Next for Race Relations In This Country?

Now that Barack Obama has won the battle for the presidency, what will it mean for race relations in this country? Will America have to put aside all of the unreasonable opinions and prejudices and out-and-out racist ideas and start to view itself as finally united? Will we begin to view each other individually --not as black people and white people, but as Americans?

I've seen a lot of comments on these pages from some very hateful and confused people who accuse blacks of being racist because there is a Black History Month or a Miss Black America pageant or even an AOL Black Voices.

Well, there was a need for Black History Month to let people know that contributions by blacks to this country extend beyond the spheres of slavery and civil rights. Yes, there were Frederick Douglass and Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., but the inventions and industries created by and built on the backs of African Americans have been mostly ignored. Inventing the traffic light, the filament that made the light bulb possible, the mailbox, and the original golf tee, plus discovering blood plasma and three hundred uses for the peanut -- all were accomplished by African Americans. That's why we have Black History Month, so that we'll, to borrow a phrase, "never forget."

But will having a President Barack Obama eliminate that need to remember? Will black contributions now find their way into the annals of mainstream America?

While we're pondering that, let's ask: do we still need a Miss Black America? Well, for too many years the standard of beauty has been that of white skin, straight hair, and keen features. But that has changed dramatically. In fact, Tyra Banks, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, and Queen Latifah are considered American beauties, and there have been several black Miss Americas. It might be time to put that one out to pasture.

And what about Black Voices?

Well, turn on your television. How many black journalists host a news talk show on a major cable or network station? I'll help you out: None. (DL Hughley doesn't count, believe me!) How many black voices are heard on mainstream media outlets (outside of entertainment shows like 'The View' and 'Oprah.')

How many major newspapers and news magazines are run or shaped by people who are not white? How many blacks in decision-making positions to greenlight projects? If you do the research, you'll know why Black Voices was necessary.

The question moving forward is: does having Barack Obama as president change things? Does his presidency eliminate the need for holidays, outlets and organizations like the NAACP and the Urban League, that are primarily for the interests blacks?

While his presidency will certainly go a long way toward bettering the way blacks (and all Americans) will be viewed, it will not change the hearts and minds of the ignorant among us who will judge a person based on stereotypes and the color of his or her skin. The need for organizations, holidays, and outlets that set the record straight will remain.

Meanwhile, the fact that 250,000 people showed up to hear Obama speak in Germany (not exactly a country with a history for accepting ethnic differences) shows that he has in some ways transcended the previous limitations of his race.

He is the manifestation of the American dream -- raised by a single mom with humble means, worked hard to finish at the top of his class, and ran a successful national campaign to finally hold the greatest office in the land.
His victory says to all Americans, no matter their race, creed, or color, that anything is possible.

Yes, Obama is special, but his success should not be viewed as an anomaly. Ken Chenault, Dick Parsons, and others sit at the helm of major mainstream companies like American Express and Time Warner. They were never "black" CEOs, no more than Neil deGrasse Tyson is a "black" astrophysicist, or Ben Carson is a "black" pediatric neurosurgeon who happens to be the best in the world.

Now, Barack Obama will simply be President Barack Obama

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