Obama Needs More Than Black Power to Win

When I learned there were rumblings in Black America about Sen. Barack Obama's lack of authenticity I was not surprised. For all the discrimination and ostracism black people have faced we can often be divisive and even exclusionary. I have the perfect background to understand Barack Obama's dilemma. I'm an African immigrant, who made his home in America. I consider myself to be a black American, and like Barak Obama I am not descended from slaves.

When I first arrived in the United States I naturally gravitated towards people who looked like me. I was soon made painfully aware that most of the black students at Oklahoma State University wanted nothing to do with Africans. Even though black Americans prided in using the term African American, and African medallions and Kente cloth were fashionable, native born Africans were not. I also learned that many black Americans had absorbed some of the worst stereotypes of Africans, and some even harbored animosity for slavery. Ironically in college black Americans students had an area where they congregated in the Student Union. They dubbed it Little Africa, but if one of the African students had actually gone and sat there he would have been shunned. I watched a painfully funny skit on "The Daily Show" recently where a black correspondent said that although black Americans insist on being called African Americans, they really want nothing to do with real Africans.

Many older Black Americans admire Africans for their industriousness and academic prowess. One of my close black Americans friends once told me that some black Americans resent Africans because their features, dark skin and thick lips, are everything what black Americans have been taught to hate in themselves by White America. Some black Americans find Africans to be arrogant and condescending. What many black Americans see as arrogant, I see as confidence. Most Africans were educated on the British standard of education which already gives them a leg up in American schools. Also black immigrants have not been subjective to years of America's particularly virulent brand of racism. Constantly having to deal with rejection, obstruction and injustice eventually breeds bitterness and despair. African immigrants come to America from countries where getting an education is a luxury, so they see the U.S. as the land of opportunity. Native born blacks often see America as a place where the odds are constantly stacked against them.

Over the years I have worked hard to integrate myself into black American culture. I am a member of several black professional associations and the NAACP. I have also participated in social events sponsored by black Greek organizations such as Alpha Kappa Alpha and Alpha Phi Alpha. I realize the cultures are very different, but I have spent the bulk of my adult life in America. And I always say, police officers can't tell the difference when they pull me over.

However Baraka Obama, who was born in Hawaii to a white American mother, is way more American than me. It's ridiculous to question his authenticity. He is technically more American than Colin Powell, whose parents were both born in Jamaica, and yet noone questions his black credentials. Other ethnic groups would rally around their candidate. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, is only half Latino, yet noone questions his roots. Also, George P. Bush, nephew of the president and son of Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, was embraced by the Hispanic community, even though he is only half Mexican.

Whether the black community embraces Obama is really a moot point. Blacks are only about 14 percent of the population and half of us don't vote anyway. Any politician who plans to capture the White House needs a broad coalition of supporters including women, white Southerners and the increasingly powerful Hispanic voting bloc. And this is where I see Obama running into problems. As much as we like to believe we have made progress I can't see the so-called Nascar dads voting for a black man named Obama. Unfortunately race is still an Achilles heel in the political arena. The attack ads which torpedoed Rep. Harold Ford's senatorial campaign featured a sexy blonde implying she was interested in Ford. Even though the ad was totally fictional, it damaged Ford's reputation, illustrating that race and sex are still an issue in the south.
If Obama does manage to secure the Democratic nomination, he will face a Republican political machine that has built successful campaigns on fear and loathing of ethnic people and gays. Obama has already faced false accusations that he is a closet Muslim and had his name misspelled as Osama, so one can only imagine what kind of vitriol would be hurled at him if he became the Democratic party's standard bearer. The presidency unfortunately still seems to be the realm of White Anglo Saxon Protestants. Even preppy Mitt Romney is running into turbulence, because although he is white, wealthy and has an Anglo last name, he is a Mormon.

Still one would be smart not to write off Obama. His audacious bid currently has as much chance of any of the many candidates. He doesn't have many years of national experience, but George W. Bush had one and half a term as governor of Texas on his resume and was still elected president. What Obama does have going for him is rock star like charisma and the fact that he is different from many of the established candidates.

Here is some interesting to note, Blair Hull, Obama's rival in the Democratic primary for the Senate in Illinois, had to drop out of the race because of allegations of domestic abuse. And Jack Ryan, the eventual Republican candidate, had to drop out of the race because divorce papers revealed he had taken his wife to sex clubs. It seems that fortune smiles on Mr. Obama. Opponents beware.