President Obama: Furthering Racial Division

The election of President Obama was historical and will be remembered for as long as our country exists. President Barack Obama was the first elected African American president of the United States of America. His election has generated extensive academic and news media discussions about the significance of race in America today. President Obama represents a sign of further ethnic and racial division.

America is the land of the free and created by immigrants. Migration of different ethnicities resulted in mixed cultures and races during procreation. America has slowly become more diverse as traditional ideals on race have changed over time. In the past family heritage was often related to color, which, as Pauli Murray has suggested, was the "yardstick by which everyone measured everybody else'' (Gatewood, 1988, pg. 29). Nowadays, the rate of multicultural families are at an all time high. President Obama was born into a multicultural family.

Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents were of contrasting ethnic backgrounds. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas. She was American of English and Irish ancestry. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born in Kenya’s Nyanza Province. He was of African heritage, belonging to an ethnic group called the Luo. Barack Obama is considered “multicultural.” Multicultural is defined as of, relating to, or constituting several cultural or ethnic groups within a society. With this being said, Barack Obama is 25% English, 25% Irish and 50% African. When put in this perspective we are able to note that while Barack Obama has a diverse background, he is 50% white and 50% black. To consider him the “first black president,” or rather the first African American President, would be incorrect because he is not solely African American, but rather multicultural.

During campaigning, President Barack Obama advertised and exaggerated the fact that he is a black man. According to the Washington Post, Obama excelled with “understanding problems of people like me” (Wilson, 2012). Meaning, he attracted multicultural and minority voters. Obama shared stories of being raised as an African American by a single mother. With this, Obama gain support from African Americans, multicultural citizens, immigrants, and white Americans. Due to his multicultural ethnicity, Obama was able to identify with the majority of all Americans no matter what race. Many people were attracted to his background that suggested being a part of the minority group and middle to lower socioeconomic class. However, Barack Obama is classified as being part of the upper-class. He attended the prestigious Columbia University and later attended Harvard Law School. While President Obama shares a multicultural background with the minority population, he does not share similar socio economic status.  

Recently socio economic margins have widen. The rich are richer. The poor are poorer. Socioeconomic status is often correlated with one’s race, however not always. According the Nation, “Schools are resegregating, legislation is being gutted, it’s getting harder to vote, large numbers are being deprived of their basic rights through incarceration, and the economic disparities between black and white are growing” (Younge, 2014). In many areas, America is becoming more separate and less equal.

According to research recently conducted by ProPublica, “black children across the South now attend majority-black schools at levels not seen in four decades.” A recent Nation article illustrated how this trend is largely by design. In suburbs across the region, wealthier whites have been seceding from their inner- city school districts and setting up academic laagers of their own. The result is a concentration of race and class disadvantage in a system with far fewer resources. In a 2012 report, UCLA’s Civil Rights Project noted: “Nationwide, the typical black student is now in a school where almost two out of every three classmates (64%) are low-income (Younge, 2014).

The division is not a direct result from race, but rather of socioeconomic class which may be influenced by race.

Ethnicity is defined as “the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.” With the attraction of simply the color of his skin Obama was able to win over millions of votes, however, socially and economically he couldn’t be more different of many of his supporters. President Obama represents a sign of further ethnic and racial division.

Gatewood, Willard B. (1988). Aristocrats of Color: South and North The Black Elite, 1880-1920. The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 54(1), pp. 3-20.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/the-strategy-that-paved-a-winning-path/2012/11/07/0a1201c8-2769-11e2-b2a0-ae18d6159439_story.html

http://www.thenation.com/article/179968/truth-about-race-america-its-getting-worse-not-better#

Images retrieved from:

http://www.arogundade.com/is-barack-obama-black-or-mixed-race.html

http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2013/11/best_black_history_quotes_president_barack_obama_on_race_in_america.html

Media Portrayal of African American Men

Overtime, discrimination against specific races has slightly diminished, however is still present in today’s society. Often time people develop thoughts about races based off of inaccurate portrayals and create predispositions. The portrayal of African American men in society is greatly influenced by images seen in the media. We often see African American Males as homeless, violent, or unsuccessful.

The greatest conflict of our society is how we define success. Some see success as earning lots of money and being able to afford expensive material goods. Others see success as building lasting relationships and finding happiness. Taylor Gibbs reported in the article "Black Male" Imagery and Media Containment of African American Men, “that today’s young African American men are more likely than they were in the 1960s to be unwed fathers, unemployed, addicted to drugs, and involved in the criminal justice system and to die from homicide or suicide” (1997, pg. 99). By stating this he suggests that African American males are more likely to be unsuccessful. However, Gibbs fails to state that nowadays, there are more pregnancies independent of marriages, unemployment rates are high, and drugs are more accessible than ever before. 

Media often depicts homeless men as “unkempt, bedraggled, and less-white” (Page, 1997, pg 100). For homeless men of color, the media portrays them as deserving of this lifestyle, leaving the rich-white man in internal conflict - “Shall I help? Am I safe? Do they deserve my help?” However, why is society focusing on how deserving a homeless person is of help, when they have the ability to help? We as a society should help others and not assume why someone is in a specific situation based on examples given by the media.

African American men are often portrayed as violent through television, music videos, and film. Lyrics of songs, specifically hip-hop, R&B, and rap, suggests African Americans display violence or destructive behavior. "Black Male" Imagery and Media Containment of African American Men describes a story of Susan Smith. Smith, a mother of a small son, reported in 1994 that a black man hijacked her car and took her baby inside. When her son could not be found, her story did not seem to add up.

Smith’s story began to crumble even before she failed the first of two lie-detector tests. Police continued to give her the benefit of the doubt, at least in public… Sweet Susan Smith - the [white] mother America had come to know… [as she cried] from the return of her stolen children on the Today show, play[ed] with them at a videotaped birthday party, [and begged]... that the kidnapper feed them and care for them - had confessed to killing them… “This whole incident with her labeling a black man as the criminal send a messafe of the black male as savage and barbarian,” sam McElroy Hughes, a retired minister and local president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

While the case is simply appalling, many people were upset about the fact that the mother accused a black male of the crime that she committed. “No one reminded the viewing public how Smith, as a white female member of the mainstream audience, had been socialized by the media’s production of black male images” (Page, 1997, pg. 101).

While certain media portrayals of African American males may certainly be true for some people, it is wrong to assume they represent the entire race. Many men and women are homeless. Many men and women are violent. Many men and women suffer from false stereotypes. Just because the media portrays a race in a certain light does not mean it is true. In order to prevent stereotypes from effecting how our society thinks, we must acknowledge the fact that these portrayals by the media are false and must stop.

Page, Helàn E. (1997). "Black Male" Imagery and Media Containment of African American Men. American Anthropologist, Vol. 99(1), pp. 99-111.

Clawson, Rosalee A., and Trice, Rakuya. (2000). Poverty as We Know It: Media Portrayals of the Poor. The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol, 64(1), pp. 53-64.

Hudson, Benjamin F. (1963). Another View of "Uncle Tom". Phylon, Vol, 24(1), pp. 79-87.

Images retrieved from:

http://beyoungandshutup.com/2013/09/19/the-problem-isnt-black-culture-the-problem-is-youre-a-racist/

http://havacuppahemlock1.blogspot.com/2013/07/racism-and-bigotry-lives-america-still.html

http://mic.com/articles/80797/watch-how-fox-news-really-talks-about-black-america

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

The transatlantic slave trade is one of the most important events in the history of the American continent. Millions of people’s destinies were predetermined by the reckless actions of others. The social, economic, and cultural consequences of the transatlantic slavery for both Africa and African diaspora in Americas are reflected in today’s society.

The Atlantic slave trade was a system founded on human cruelty and exploitation motivated by economic greed, social deviance, and psychological and moral turpitude. As the Europeans voyaged to the “New World,” they stole Africans from their native home to work for free as slaves. Europeans robbed Africans of their families, homes, and culture. Ironically, as the Europeans willingly voyaged to the Americas for freedom, Blacks were forced to accompany them as their slaves. This system of trade began with the Spanish and Portuguese voyage to the New World. They traveled to the Western coast of Africa to collect slaves to perform free labor.

Introduction To African American Studies described the captured African’s voyage to the Americas:

On the voyage to the New World, Blacks were packed like sardines below the main deck of the slave vessels and chained together by their legs, wrists, or necks. Sickness and epidemics often afflicted the enslaved Africans cargo and crew. Extreme heat compounded the foulness of the air. Naked men and women lay for hours and days in their own defecation, blood, and mucus, which covered the floors. Thousands committed suicide or died from harsh and cruel treatment and punishment. Resistance, revolt, and mutiny were not uncommon, and thousands died in such attempts (Anderson, 2007, pg. 52).

The conditions on the boats were unbearable. “Europeans employed specious moral arguments of racial inferiority based on color to rationalize the enslavement of African people” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51). It is estimated between 1650 and 1860, approximately 10 to 15 million enslaved people were brought from West Africa to the Americas. “The overwhelming majority of... immigrants groups came to America in pursuit of political freedom and economic opportunity, the African presence in America, in contrast, was based on economic exploitation and the denial of freedom” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 1).

The Atlantic slave trade affected the political and economic destinies of millions of people and of many countries other than the United States (Anderson, 2007, pg. 5). The removal of Africans from their homeland left African countries in mourning and poverty. “The economic and industrial development of Europe was substantially based and dependent on the plantation economies of the New World and the West Indies” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51). European settlers were able to thrive financially due to the free labor and increased goods caused by the transatlantic slave trade. “During the seventeenth century, the British slave colonies produced more than a fourth of all British imports and exports of merchandise and agriculture” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51). The British economy was highly dependent on slavery. During this time there was a high demand for workers to sustain agriculture of the new land and new commercial markets, thus a high demand for enslaved Africans. This cycle intensified the Atlantic slave trade.

“The actual number of captive Africans transported to the Americas and West Indies cannot be determined” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51). While millions of slaves died in transport, it is estimated that over ten million survived the voyages. “The period of the slave trade extended for more than four centuries” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51). It is said that African chiefs and rulers were compliant with Europeans in the initial stages of trade, however once they discovered the inhumane conditions and results of the trade, it was far too late to stop. Introduction to African Studies states, “When African societies awakened and became conscious of the magnitude and horrors of slave marketing to their own societies, it was too late. The naval, military, and weapons superiority of the Europeans rendered Africans helpless to end the trade. The English, French, and Dutch established trading posts or forts along the coast of West Africa to facilitate and defend this sordid trade” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51)

As the Europeans thrived economically they continued to establish security and strength in the system. They continue to explain the process of trade:

The British invented the highly efficient and profitable triangular trade, a three-way system of profit. They exchanged goods produced in the slave colonies for more enslaved Africans, which, in turn, were sold and traded for sugar and tobacco destined for English ports (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51).

“If the demand and markets for sugar, tobacco, cotton, and condiments had not existed, slavery on such a vast scale would not have developed. If morality had triumphed over markets, there would have been no slave trade” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 51).

Anderson, Talmadge & Stewart, James. 2007. Introduction to African American Studies: Transnational Approaches and Implications. Baltimore: Black Classic Press.

Images retrieved from:

http://macquirelatory.com/Trans%20Atlantic%20Slave%20Trade.htm

http://agoiwoye.org/trans-atlantic-slave-trade/

http://www.informafrica.com/african-studies/transatlantic-slave-trade-transporting-africans-to-america/

http://www.understandingrace.org/history/society/invention_of_race.html

http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/BI/hist498-smallwood/

The Birth of African American Studies

The is a general consensus that African American Studies as a field of knowledge was born out of black resistance movements during the early years of the civil rights in the 1940s and 1950s. However, many people don’t understand what African American Studies is and the political, social, and economic conditions that led to the birth of African American Studies.


Vivian Gordan, first African American librarian in the Chicago Public Library system and a significant contributor to Chicago's Black Renaissance (Garner, 2011), defines African American or Black Studies as, “an analysis of the factors and conditions which have affected the economic, psychological, legal and moral status of the African in America as well as the African in diaspora” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 4). She continues to explain, “Not only is Black Studies concerned with the culture of the Afro-American ethnic, as historically and sociologically defined by the traditional literature, it is also concerned with the development of new approaches to the study of the Black experience and with the development of social policies which will impact positively upon the lives of Black people” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 4). Following the 1960s, the field of study was established in schools, colleges, and universities all around the United States.

The Atlantic slave trade affected the political and economic destinies of millions of people and of many countries other than the United States (Anderson, 2007, pg. 5). The Atlantic slave trade was a system founded on human cruelty and exploitation motivated by economic greed, social deviance, and psychological and moral turpitude. As the Europeans voyaged to the “New World,” they stole Africans from their native home to work for free as slaves. Europeans robbed Africans of their families, homes, and culture. Ironically, as the Europeans willingly voyaged to the Americas for freedom, Blacks were forced to accompany them as their slaves. Introduction To African American Studies described the captured African’s voyage to the Americas:

On the voyage to the New World, Blacks were packed like sardines below the main deck of the slave vessels and chained together by their legs, wrists, or necks. Sickness and epidemics often afflicted the enslaved Africans cargo and crew. Extreme heat compounded the foulness of the air. Naked men and women lay for hours and days in their own defecation, blood, and mucus, which covered the floors. Thousands committed suicide or died from harsh and cruel treatment and punishment. Resistance, revolt, and mutiny were not uncommon, and thousands died in such attempts (Anderson, 2007, pg. 52).

“The overwhelming majority of... immigrants groups came to America in pursuit of political freedom and economic opportunity, the African presence in America, in contrast, was based on economic exploitation and the denial of freedom” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 1).

Europeans originally came to Africa with prejudices against the Africans and their culture. The word and color “Black” was associated with negative qualities (Adeleke, 1997, pg. 3). This idea has been supported through European history and folklore. “Black connotes that which is soiled, dirty, foul, horrible, wicked, evil, or bad” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 2). The image below explains the color black in relation to the psychology of the color according to “Color Wheel Pro.”

While African American Studies has helped educate our society, many prejudices and discrimination against Blacks and minority races continue to exist.

“The liberation and civil rights struggle of African Americans have received international attention and have served as models for parallel struggles by other oppressed populations” (Anderson, 2007, pg. 5-6). Beginning in the 1940s, Blacks began to rightfully fight from their freedom. “Attempts to debunk Eurocentric views of Africa did not begin until free blacks who struggles to break through the shackles of slavery, and became educated, began to write and publish accounts of their history and experience in Africa and the new world” (Adeleke, 1997, pg. 4). Critical leaders of the movement include George Washington Williams, William Wells Brown, Martin R. Delany, and James W.C. Pennington. When the Civil Rights Movement began in the 1960s, the process of educating the public intensified.

Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton state in Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America, “Black people must redefine themselves, and only they can do that.” The creation of African American Studies is detrimental in order to educate our nation about the culture of African Americans and how they have affected the political, social, and economic conditions of the United States and the world.

Anderson, Talmadge & Stewart, James. 2007. Introduction to African American Studies: Transnational Approaches and Implications. Baltimore: Black Classic Press.

Adeleke, Tunde. 1997. "The African Background" In The African Americans: Their History, edited by Howard Jones. Thompson Learning Custom Publishing, pp. 3-20.

Color Wheel Pro. Black. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.htm

Garner, Carla. 2011. Harsh, Vivian Gordon (1890-1960). Retrieved from http://www.blackpast.org/aah/harsh-vivian-gordon-1890-1960#sthash.8STvyX5L.dpuf

Images retrieved from:

http://www.recoveredhistories.org/storiesmiddle.php

http://www.jungnewyork.com/venus.shtml

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http://nakedchiefs.com/2012/11/27/goree-slave-trade-island-a-tragic-history-beggars-in-the-water-and-the-shame-of-africa/