Well, I’m glad it’s over. And my bet is that on November 4, 2008, America will elect its first Black president. And two cute young Black girls will occupy the White House living space with their two Black parents. I would have hated to see the consequences of an Obama defeat. Hopes were so high and Obama such a superior choice that Black folks would never have accepted his defeat passively. He would never say it—and he shouldn’t have—but we know that if Obama was White, he would have locked up the victory long ago just as we know that if Palin wasn’t so obviously unprepared for the vice presidency and was less vocal about her extreme positions, she would have provided the margin for victory that McCain needed. And we know why! 

       The presidential campaign has revealed some terrible truths about White America. We now know that 40% of White Americans have negative opinions about African Americans. That they have negative opinions is bad enough but that they apply their judgment to a collective 40 million Black people is absolutely disgusting. But, it’s good to know. 

       But, on the positive side, many of the 40% are going to vote for Barack Obama, in spite of their negative feelings (see p. 22). And, I suppose it is also somewhat of a positive that only 33% of White Democrats admitted to holding negative opinions about Black Americans. And, I suppose it shows racial progress when union leaders in the Boston area and around the country implore their members to overlook their racism and vote their Democratic interest. Too bad they waited so long. But denial is hard to remedy and late is better than never. 

       And, I suppose, in a glass half-full sort of way, it’s good that Republicans who hold negative opinions of Obama did not vote for him because of his position on the issues rather than his race…so they say. Thank goodness that the pundits have almost universally admitted that Republicans have played the race card in all of their recent elections…not because they are racist but because they knew that an appeal to their constituents’ racism would win elections. 

       The instant irony, however, is that McCain could not use the race issue in the same overt way. His predecessors were running against White opponents, which made it easy to slip the race issue in through the back door. Because Obama is Black, McCain had to be extra careful not to get labeled a racist. One thing we’ve learned for sure during these campaigns, it’s okay to appeal to racists; it’s even okay to be a racist.  But, the worst thing that could happen to a White person, and especially one running for President against a Black person, is to be labeled a racist. Bill Clinton’s over-the-top reaction to being accused of playing the race card in the preliminary election taught us that.

       But, Obama tricked White folks. He gave them the “Negro” they wanted. Jesse Jackson was right, of course. Obama sold out. But, he wasn’t selling out Black folks. He was selling out the caricature of Black folks that White folks cling to. For two years he had to embrace the role of the “exceptional Negro.” Had he revealed the same range of emotions held by all humans during the elections, the same range of emotions displayed by McCain, Clinton and all of the other White candidates, he would have been crucified and sent back to the Senate post haste. That Obama understood that is to his credit. That it bothered Jesse Jackson is to his credit.

       Speaking of Jesse Jackson, of course he’s envious of Obama as some jaundiced White pundits revel in revealing! Why shouldn’t he be! He sacrificed all these years to prepare the way for America to elect a Black president only to realize that he could never be among the legitimate contenders because he is unacceptable to mainstream White America because of his good “works” and soft-appearing Obama is acceptable. 

       White America has legitimized some of the most despicable right wing racist theologians, including those at Bob Jones University where McCain felt it prudent to visit to showcase his right wing credentials. It has tolerated some of the most warped White politicians (a la Jessie Helms) in the name of the democratic process. But, the pundits almost took Obama down for simply being in a church with a robust Black preacher, whose “liberation theology,” blown out of proportion and distorted beyond recognition, offended White America. So, Jesse Jackson never had a chance. He knows that! But, why should he be happy about it? 

       Obama got what Jesse Jackson earned for him and Jesse’s son, of all people, should understand what that means. I lost so much respect for Jesse, Jr. when he went on television to condemn his father. As a father, I don’t appreciate what Jesse Jackson’s son did in the name of presidential politics. His father was caught saying some things about Obama that he probably genuinely felt. But he said them publicly by accident. Even if he didn’t, if young Jessie, Jr., who has been an Obama ally for years before the presidential elections, felt he had to chastise his father, he should have done so privately, not publicly. His public display of disloyalty was unnecessary and counterproductive.

       Jesse, Jr. seems to have forgotten that he is where he is also because of his father and people like him. It is not true—as the White media tries to suggest and as we sometimes get tricked into believing—that we must choose between Jackson and Obama. Obama and all of his generation are still standing on Jesse Jackson’s shoulders and, even though White America requires Obama to act otherwise, there is no reason to treat Jackson like anything but the hero and statesman that he is. And, as far as I am concerned, his character shined through when he didn’t respond publicly to his son’s juvenile impertinence. 

       One more thing that I’ve kept bottled up inside of me. It always amused me when White folks, well-meaning and otherwise, would ask why race had become an issue in the campaign. I was one of three Black guests on a WGBY television talk show during the primary when race as an issue in the presidential election was brought up by the White host, whose questions presumed that race was foremost in the minds of her three guests. I listened as the other two politely and awkwardly attempted to respond. When my turn came to respond, I could tell by the look on the host’s face, that I ruined the party. 

       I am not as informed as the most informed, but I am more informed than the average person because I read and listen a lot. And I know who is saying what. And, I was able to say with confidence to our host that it was White folks who seemed to be raising the issue of race in the presidential campaign. And I was also able to say with certainty that it was White media folks who seemed to be raising the issue of race. And, to make matters worse for our liberal host, I was able to state with certainty that most of the talk about race was coming from White liberal media sources and much of it was not favorable to Obama. 

       And, then I delivered my hard ball. I told the truth! — that most Black folks were far less concerned about the race element in the presidential campaign than they were concerned about Obama getting shot. And that has been the truth from the beginning of his campaign and it remains the truth today. And we will worry about and pray for him for every day that he is President of this country because we don’t underestimate the depth of the evil that racism causes. 

       And, to Black folks and White folks alike who say that we should not mention the possibility for fear of encouraging it, I must say, I’ve lived through enough to know that the possibility is very real and I would rather that we own up to it and prepare against it rather than stick our heads in the sand and send the message to the haters that Barack Obama is theirs for the taking.

       The more relevant but unasked question is why was the White liberal media stirring up the racial animus that it had historically stifled? And the more puzzling question is why were the conservative pundits, with the Republican history of race baiting, calling them on it? I suspect—and it’s merely my opinion—that both liberals and conservatives got disappointed on this one.

       Liberal media pundits had to know that if race could become the central issue in the primary campaign, Clinton would win. They seemed to do every thing possible to keep race up front. Conversely, conservative media pundits had to know that Black folks—Democrats always—would not vote in the final election if they believed that Obama was defeated by Democrats, mind you, because of his race. And, they seemed to do everything they could to highlight and condemn the liberal media’s race baiting…that is until Obama won the primaries. 

       And, thereafter, the great reverse occurred. Liberals became concerned about race becoming a campaign issue and dared McCain to raise it and began finding Republican racial animus in every nook and cranny, and conservative pundits suddenly started throwing the race card around like they were in a Las Vegas crap game.

       And we learned another thing through the presidential elections. FOX News is not invulnerable. Its ratings slid next to MSNBC and the last honest opinion program, “Morning Joe,” must have had a lot to do with it. But, more significantly, many of us wonder how long White America will tolerate the likes of Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs and acerbic radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and “what’s his name” Dobson as their official spokespeople. If this is your best then White America is in more trouble than we thought and Barack Obama may just be our last hope. And, nothing is more refreshing than listening to Fox’s Bill O’Reilly whining in search of a reason why the original slanted news channel is finally getting its ratings comeuppance. 

       Now, I don’t want to sound ungrateful. Something seems to be happening in America that I never believed could happen in my lifetime. Obama’s candidacy has brought out record numbers of Black voters, lying to rest the notion of Black voter apathy. His candidacy is also supported by record numbers of White voters, without whom Obama could not win. The demographics are startling. Black, White and Hispanic voters, even Cubans in Florida, have drifted toward Obama. Male and female, older voters and younger voters, Democrats and Independents and, now, even Republicans have moved his way. It is difficult to believe that Obama’s campaign is anything less than “transformational” as Colin Powell so eloquently put it. It might truly be the case that John McCain is a relic and Sarah Palin is an anachronism and that America has come of age. For the sake of the world, let’s hope so.

       I must admit I have experienced a certain numbness throughout this presidential campaign. It has been hard emotionally to embrace the possibility that an African American will be president in my lifetime. And even as the possibility moves from probability to reality, I still feel numbness. I’m convinced that my numbness is a residue of the 50’s and 60’s—Emmett Till, Malcolm X, Medger Evers, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Kennedy, my brother Ronny Hurst, a Vietnam casualty, and so many others who lost their lives for the cause. 

       We learned back then to be wary of hope. We learned to expect it to be smashed on the rock of inconvenient reality. To a large extent, we became immune to it. I laugh when my sons say they never expected a Black president in their lifetime. What do they really know! Hell, if you had suggested to me that America would have a Black president in my sons’ grandsons’ lifetime, I would have suspected that something was in your kool aid. I thank God that my father and mother are still alive to witness it. And, I hope it is transformational. America has a chance to realize its true potential and Barack Obama could be the historical vehicle. Let’s take care of this prophet!  n