Post Racialism
Edith Hudson
English Composition 1002
Rickey Pittman
November 20, 2011
ARE WE IN THE MIDST OF POST RACIALISM IN AMERICA?
“The mythology of post racialism, like colorblindness, is terribly difficult to counter because it is so intuitive and aspirational. It makes sense at a gut level that if people endure hardship because of their racial identities, canceling out the importance of those identities solves the problem. What better marker of progress could there be than a black president?” (Sen)
In November 2008, I was in Chicago and watching the celebration of the election of Barack Hussein Obama I wondered if the world that I had lived in for the past 58 years was about change. There were people or shall I say fellow Americans of every description sharing in a moment of shock and awe. When this election process began I had little thought that Obama would actually win. My thoughts were that he would put in a very good showing and Hillary Clinton would naturally win. But, after he won in Iowa I became a believer in “hope and change”. When I realized this was an actual dream that could come true my feet hardly touched the ground. A “post racial” society was possible or so I thought.
Living and working in Monroe, LA quickly brought my feet down firmly on the ground. You see Monroe is where I first drank from the “colored” water fountain and used the “colored” bathroom. This was the first place that I was called “nigger” and saw a cross burned to frighten students not to attend Northeast Louisiana University (ULM). Putting all these memories in the back of my mind, I still had room to hope that maybe we as a country had grown from this horrible point in history. Much to my regret I began to feel and eerie feeling of impending doom and my dealings with the “white” race became very strained, it was almost as if I had committed some crime. Sure my walk was a little lighter my usual banter took on a more jovial tone and I’d look in the mirror and feel
English Composition 1002
Rickey Pittman
November 20, 2011
ARE WE IN THE MIDST OF POST RACIALISM IN AMERICA?
“The mythology of post racialism, like colorblindness, is terribly difficult to counter because it is so intuitive and aspirational. It makes sense at a gut level that if people endure hardship because of their racial identities, canceling out the importance of those identities solves the problem. What better marker of progress could there be than a black president?” (Sen)
In November 2008, I was in Chicago and watching the celebration of the election of Barack Hussein Obama I wondered if the world that I had lived in for the past 58 years was about change. There were people or shall I say fellow Americans of every description sharing in a moment of shock and awe. When this election process began I had little thought that Obama would actually win. My thoughts were that he would put in a very good showing and Hillary Clinton would naturally win. But, after he won in Iowa I became a believer in “hope and change”. When I realized this was an actual dream that could come true my feet hardly touched the ground. A “post racial” society was possible or so I thought.
Living and working in Monroe, LA quickly brought my feet down firmly on the ground. You see Monroe is where I first drank from the “colored” water fountain and used the “colored” bathroom. This was the first place that I was called “nigger” and saw a cross burned to frighten students not to attend Northeast Louisiana University (ULM). Putting all these memories in the back of my mind, I still had room to hope that maybe we as a country had grown from this horrible point in history. Much to my regret I began to feel and eerie feeling of impending doom and my dealings with the “white” race became very strained, it was almost as if I had committed some crime. Sure my walk was a little lighter my usual banter took on a more jovial tone and I’d look in the mirror and feel
Cited: Cummings, Andre ' Douglas Pond. "Post Racialism?" Utah Law Review, Racial Coding and the Financial Market Crisis 3 May 2011: 630. King, Ella Mazel/Martin Luther King. "and don 't call me a racist". Lexington, MA: Argonaut Press, 1998. Sen, Rinku. "Taking on Postracialism." Fall 2009. Race, Feminism, Out Future. 23 November 2011 . Woo, Dong. "Urban Dictionary." 30 May 2006. colorblind racism. 26 Novemer 2011 .