Word: african-american
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...African-American, people expect me to be excited by the inauguration of the first black president of the United States last week. Of course, symbols matter. A black man could not have ascended to the presidency 40 years ago. But the inauguration of President Barack Obama means considerably less than what the pundits say it means...
...Admittedly, Obama represents a new type of African-American politician: He is not a minister, he did not march with Dr. King, he has no line item in his budget for pregnant mistresses and keeps food—not cash—in his refrigerator. Brotherman is no Uncle Sambo. He is not an embarrassment in that sense...
...Unlike black conservatives, such as Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, whom the African-American community mostly derides, the new black politician does not usually declare openly that he is against the issues blacks support. He just never declares that he is for those issues. For instance, the issue of reparations for slavery is avoided. At one presidential debate, white congressman Dennis Kucinich said he was for it, while Obama dodged the question...
When the Emancipation Proclamation was passed over a century ago, many Americans made the mistake of believing that color lines had been erased, blinding them to the harsh realities of the post-Civil War African-American experience. Now, as the first president with black heritage ascends to the White House, Americans are again quick to congratulate themselves for triumphing over prejudice. But, though Obama’s mixed background and encouragement of diversity are an essential first step in breaching racial divides, we should not be naïve enough to believe that racism no longer poses a problem...
...Racial incidents still occur far too frequently. A few weeks ago, for example, my sister and a group of other middle-school students were on a school trip to Macon, Georgia. Their African-American bus driver parked in an almost-empty Dairy Queen parking lot so that the children could get something to eat. After everybody had made their purchases, the white manager of the restaurant came over to the bus and demanded that the bus driver move out of his parking lot, claiming he had not bought anything...