“…investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.” ~ Barack Obama
This is a call to all thinking people from any walk of life or any political orientation. Please set aside 40 or so minutes to listen to Senator Obama’s address on the subject of race in America. Or, if you prefer, carefully read the speech’s text.
Yes, there is a sentence or two about Senator Obama’s political positions, but 99% of the address is an earnest, thoughtful, sensitive and sophisticated sketch of how race sometimes divides America and the role race plays in American politics. Now, I’m not going to dare place Senator Obama in the rhetorical company of Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X – that requires critical distance and the voice of scholars. I will say that Americans living today have not heard a such a candid, intellectual speech on this topic by an American of Obama’s stature in decades; in that context, today’s address may prove historic.
Obama said everything I try to say when I discuss race in America with others, but Obama does it far more eloquently, skillfully, and far more thoroughly then I. So please, realize that yes, Barack Obama is speaking for himself here and speaking in order to preserve his presidential campaign, but this man is also speaking for me and millions of others like me of all races who wish America could have a factual and enlightened discussion on how to make America great for all people. I hope after you consider the Senator’s words, you can say that he speaks for you, too, irrespective of who you want to occupy the White House come next January.
Here are two excerpts that resonated with me: (more…)
