The Obama Factor

For decades, if a minority wanted to describe something as impossible, they would proclaim "I'll believe it when we have a black president." This was the minorities version of "when pigs fly" because it had always been a general consensus that a black president would never preside over the United States of America as the white majority would never allow it. And then it happened, a relative newcomer to the political scene named Barack Obama began his now historical push to turn that impossibility into a reality. Finally, in 2008, after 43 concurrent white presidents, the minorities of America overcame Tantalus' curse and finally reached for the fruits of prosperity and grasped them before they could disappear. When Obama became president, minorities all over America stood in awe and wept silently, completely shocked and amazed as to what had just occurred. History had just been made and another battle in the war on racism had just been overwhelmingly won.

If there were ever a perfect example of how far this country has come in regards to race relations, this obviously was it as for the first time in the 232 year history of this country, its leader was not only a minority, but an individual of mixed heritage and background. And a more perfect candidate couldn't have been picked because in Barack Obama, we see a very educated man, an extremely talented public speaker rivaling that of FDR or Winston Churchill. As a child I had often stated that I wanted to be the first black or mixed president but as I stood in front of my television as Barack Obama was sworn into office, I couldn't help but forget my childhood quest for presidency and relish in the fact that before my eyes stood a brown skinned man who could now serve as the perfect role model for the future mixed and biracial children of the world. In 2006, I playfully created a Christmas list full of different goals I felt would never be attained and number one on my Christmas list was a black president in 2008. Santa Claus took a couple of years to fulfill my wish list but never the less, thankfully he came through as always.

I can still remember arguing my point in 2004 in my government and politics class, prior to the world at large even knowing how to pronounce his name, that Barack Obama would be the first black president. I was met with harsh criticism and laughter as well as most considered my opinion as nothing less than a lofty, whimsical, utopian prediction that would never come true. I didn't care what others thought because when I looked into Mr. Obama's eyes as he would speak, I saw the future of not only America but of the world as well and I knew it was only a matter of time before my prediction would come true. When I was growing up, the mixing of the races was still taboo, therefore no biracial role model existed but now Barack Obama has ushered in a new period in America. Biracial people worldwide now had a great example of what we can accomplish and what we should aspire to be.

For hundreds of years, the U.S. Census has steadily tracked the racial makeup of this country and for hundreds of years, the boxes designating race held one common direction next to them: "check only one box that applies." I can distinctively remember loathing this inability to truthfully identify myself as a person of multiple heritages. As a child, I would frequently have fun with these "racial boxes" on standardized tests, censuses, etc... and would either create my own box which I deemed "biracial" or I would check multiple boxes. Sometimes I would even create a new box titled "Tyson". Multiple times, the creators of these standardized tests would refuse to submit my answer sheet or send it back as invalid because of my choice to stand up for my mixed heritage and self identity.

I wholeheartedly hated filling out these forms, especially on tests, as I would spend a substantial amount of time trying to decide what to put down before I even began my test. Each time, I was faced with the same dilemma: I could denounce my white heritage and put down "black", I could denounce my black heritage and put down "white" or I could classify myself in the racially ambiguous box of "other". I particularly hated the "other" box because I felt as if it stripped me of everything that made me who I am. The word other just seems so generic and so negative but if I chose any other option, I would be denying my true identity. On the other hand, the one time I put down white as a child, another child who was black noticed it and for the remainder of the school year I was considered a "race traitor" because they felt as if I was denying who I was. Likewise, if I put down "black", the other kids would make fun of me because they claimed I was "too yellow to be black." Therefore, like always, I was perpetually caught in a catch 22 as no matter what I put down, I was wrong or not completely truthful.

That all changed in 2000, when the U.S. Census decided to allow people to mark as many boxes as they felt necessary to accurately describe their heritage. Prior to this census, the government had considered allowing multiple boxes to be marked but it was fiercely fought by Senators, congressmen, and social workers of color who feared that allowing people to put down more than one race would have the end result of a lot of people no longer putting down "black", which would diminish the number of people claiming to be black and therefore give them less pull in politics. But eventually, the government decided it was necessary for people to have the ability to properly identify themselves and in 2000, over 6 million people, or 2% of the population, designated themselves as multiracial. I couldn't believe it, as I no longer felt alone in the world. Overnight, I discovered that there were at least 2 million people just like me, who probably faced the same lifelong hardships and dilemmas as I did. Prior to this groundbreaking and historical census, I, just like millions of other Americans, was an anomaly, a dirty little secret in America's diary, the product of an outlawed and taboo practice. I was ecstatic when I found out these numbers as this was the first step in us people of mixed heritage getting a voice and being heard. Now that we were statistically shown as a force to be reckoned with, we would begin to garner the respect and attention we have fought so hard for in the past. As Sam Cooke had famously stated decades before... "a change gon' come"

Since that census nearly a decade ago, the population of mixed race individuals has exploded both as more and more biracial children are being born and simultaneously, adults who previously designated themselves as one race decide to proudly distinguish themselves as people of multiracial heritages. I cant even fathom the number of people who in 2010, will finally decided to mark more than one box when completing the census and because of a man named Barack Obama, that number will be exponentially higher. I feel that Obama's recent appointment to the most powerful position in the world will ultimately bring about something I refer to as the "Obama factor" or Obama effect". Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who were previously either too afraid or ashamed of their mixed heritage, will rejoice in the fact that we have a biracial President and proudly and truthfully let the real number of our ranks be known to the world. As the saying by an unknown source goes "Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King Jr. could walk, Martin Luther King Jr. walked so Barack Obama could run, and Barack Obama ran so our children can fly."