Barack Obama's Speech Takes on the Race Issue

The question of color and gender has come up between the Democratic Party's candidates. After comments made along the campaign trail since the start of the electoral season, it has once again come to the forefront of everyone's mind as they watch and listen to the sound bites taken from different sources along the way.

Most recently, comments made by former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro have stirred up a hornet's nest of activity in both the Clinton and Obama camps, with plenty of commentary from the talking-heads who are reporting the news. Whether a Democrat or a Republican, liberal or conservative, almost every talk show in the last couple of weeks has taken part of their programming time to report and give opinion on the matter.

But let's face it. Regardless of who is running for which party, this contest has always been about race.

It is about the HUMAN race.

What does it matter what color someone is? Or even what gender? We are all the same race, and these differences are what define us as individuals, but they are only there to identify who we are amongst the billions of others on this planet.

Barack Obama has been challenged by many people in this competition for the presidency because of his inexperience and the color of his skin. And yet he continues to fight for what he believes in, and has shown his steadfast integrity to himself and to the country, by speaking for what he stands for whenever he is behind the podium, in front of the microphones. Here is a man who some say truly embodies what the United States is about - of mixed ethnic descent, having lived and learned in many countries around the world, but has first and foremost been a citizen of this country, and has challenged the status quo to be the first serious contender for the presidency who was not your "average white guy."

In his speech given this morning in Philadelphia, Obama describes his heritage briefly, along with his upbringing by various members of his family. He describes his extended family briefly, but does not dwell on the personal history. Instead he uses it as the foundation for the rest of his oration. This I think is the key point to the beginning of his address in the City of Brotherly Love. He can't help but know his ethnic background - most of us do know at least part of our heritage - but he does not belabor the point that he is a black man. Instead, he has tried to campaign around the country as just a man.

As he said this morning, "It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one." E Pluribus Unum - the motto of our nation since inception, and he shows himself as the embodiment of the amalgamation that is the United States. Not only has he tried to prove himself above the "racial issues" of the campaign, his successes thus far have seemed to validate his position.

Until recently, no one seemed to dwell on the skin color or gender of the democratic candidates. But with the comment made by Ferraro, things turned around and have forced this issue. Following her comments, someone brought forth quotes from various sermons given by Reverend Jeremiah Wright while he presided over Trinity United Church of Christ where Obama has been a parishioner for two decades. The Reverend has been an outspoken critic of the United States' policies, both foreign and domestic. He has given many sermons racially charged and controversial to the average American - especially against the travesties of decades gone committed by many Caucasians prior to the Equal Rights protests in the 1960's.

Reverend Wright comes from that history, lived during the divisive times leading up to the protests and speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King and others, forcing our country to review and amend the de facto discrimination, bringing about a new age of ethic enlightenment. There are some who may dwell on that past yet, and feel some level of righteous indignation because of that history; and it is from that sometimes painful memory some will speak out.

Unlike the Reverend, Barack Obama is a child of that Era, one of the next generation finally coming of age in our country. As he explained at the top of his address, his is a true amalgamation of ethnic backgrounds who has been able to thus far realize the full potential of his life, coming from a mixed heritage during a period when being a mulatto was still frowned upon in many areas. He transcended that to attain high honors while maturing, including being the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. And now he hopes to be the first elected as President of the United States.

So this next-generation American man is realizing his version of the American Dream, an embodiment of what this country truly is when it comes to the myriad of ethnic backgrounds found within our citizenry. A dream which originates with the Declaration of Independence, defined by the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and detailed by the many Amendments added since our inception. "All men are created equal, and endowed with certain unalienable rights.." Obama is the first candidate to try and transcend that color boundary and prove what Jefferson and the Founding Fathers believed in when creating those documents.

The First Amendment allows for peaceful assembly and freedom of speech. We are a country where everyone is allowed to speak their mind about how they view the actions of their government without repercussion. Reverend Wright was practicing that freedom with his sermons - something further guaranteed by the separation of Church and State. We have all at one time or another spoken out to others about how we view the various "hot topics" in the news. Whether it is a comment about paying too much taxes (or someone else not paying enough), or conversing with our friends about our being for or against the war in Iraq. We might listen, we might even agree with some of the things said, but that does not mean we blindly follow those who speak out against the topic. Ours is not a population of sheep and doormats, but men and women of opinion and education who are capable of understanding the truth when it's heard, even when it might be surrounded by rhetoric and opinion which would otherwise cloud the issue.

Obama rightfully addressed these current events and issues about the ethic diversity of our country, and the comments made by his pastor and friend. In his speech he spoke of his conviction, one rooted in faith - faith in God and in the American people. He spoke of the anger many feel regardless of color, because we all desire to attain the great American Dream, but many times do not attain those lofty goals. Regardless of our ethnic heritage, whether a first-generation immigrant or from a long-descended family out of some of the original colonies, we have all tried, but only few succeeded to the level of the elite - wealthy, successful, and sometimes famous. In commenting on the various assertions made from the pulpit of Reverend Wright, Obama attempted to show those views were from a viewpoint that presumed our nation has become stagnant with the issues plaguing our people. Many of those sermons were from a period long before Obama announced his campaign, and the time between has shown there is still some growth amongst the populace. The accomplishments of his campaign have proven the coalition between our various ethnicities is not only possible, but has achieved such a goal which gives even more hope for a better future, more hope "in order to form a more perfect union."

As stated above, this is a country of free speech. Whether voluntarily or not, we are all exposed to those opinions given by the most vocal of us - whether it is Obama in a campaign speech, or one of the many televangelists on the airwaves, or even snippets from recorded speeches and sermons given in years past. One must take into consideration those are the words an opinions of one person, and not the sole doctrine of everyone within earshot.

One thing we must remember is that this is an issue of race - and that we are all of that same race. The Human Race. Everything else is just color and spice. It is the differences between people that make us who we are. Accepting that and working together in such a way that our differences can be utilized to make us stronger as a people is the message Obama has presented thus far. In campaigning against Clinton, starting off as an "underdog" candidate who wasn't even expected to show well in the polls - even John Edwards was expected to do better - Obama did not waiver in his message. Time and again he spoke of the change this country needs most - that which the people of the United States are almost screaming for. But quickly his message was heard, and that word was spread until he overtook the favored candidate and has become the front-runner in one of the tightest races this country has seen.

Obama represents the next generation.. the post-Equal Rights generation who is now coming of age as an adult, attaining the maturity and wisdom granted by the long years of experience. Whether or not he has been directly involved with positions within various legislatures, he has gathered experience just by living life in this latest Age of Enlightenment. He is a product of the diversity which had separated our country internally for a century after a decisive war on our own soil. He is a union of those diametric ethnic ancestries which form our nation today, and embodies the hope we all feel, the hope of change to bring about that "more perfect union" of our Founding Fathers.

It is time for a true change, and after reviewing the speech given by Barack Obama today near the origin of our great nation, he shows himself to be a true contender for the presidency, and will seriously challenge John McCain during the Autumn campaigns leading up to the November elections. As a challenger for the presidency, Obama is a serious and forthright contender who could very well be what this country truly needs from the new generation of politics.

Sources:

Full text of the speech