1/2 black + 1/2 white = Barack Obama…right??? Written by Bishop John Fonzer
Whether one agrees with the man or not, and surely no one agrees with anyone about everything, Mr. Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America. Indeed this is a milestone in the history of this great country.
Still, I am concerned with the paradigm and language of a country, that while progressive in many respects still embraces a centuries’ old non-progressive mindset about the very thing from which it celebrates its liberation.
President Obama is proudly called the first black or African-American president in United States history, and so he is. Both the public and the media mention his white family, but never does anyone say that he is white—but he is. Mr. Barack Obama is as much a white president as he is a black president.
I hold that we have only almost made it to the mountaintop that Dr. King dreamed of. No, we are not there yet. Because as long as white America and black America hold to the 1800’s belief that one drop of black blood or one black parent makes a person black, our thinking is as archaic as our slave-owning or enslaved forefathers was. Both blacks and whites are wrong for only celebrating or referring to half of Obama’s culture, thus perpetuating the divide that we proudly say has been bridged by the new president’s election and inauguration.
Let it rather be said that, we have a president—our president, a black man, a white man or a man of color, someone we can all identify with whether black, white, red or yellow. How about calling him a man, a man who was made in the image of God, a man who desperately needs our prayers?
I think many people view his black content as a contamination of his white. This being the case, he is considered black because that is looked at as the negative/dominant.
If I owned a Lexus and took my car into the dealership, I wouldn’t want Toyota parts put in it. I would think my Lexus is better and wouldn’t want the lesser parts in my car. But people wouldn’t be able to tell so I would still be proud of my Lexus. However, if the dealer put Toyota parts in my car AND put a Toyota badge on it I would have a bigger problem. I wouldn’t want what I know is a Lexus to have obvious Toyota parts in it for the world to see. More than likely, I would get rid of the car. From their reputation, I know Toyota parts are likely just as good as Lexus, but the prestige isn’t the same.
We are not cars. We are not possessions. We are human beings. No race should be considered the “Luxury” brand, but that is not the case.
Barack Obama is our 1st black president and our 44th white president all at the same time.
Tom Sawyer’s last blog post..Pennsylvania Judges Accepted Money to Jail Kids Longer
Amen to that! He epitomizes the American Dream, not just the black mans dream. Our nation is so often referred to as “The melting pot”, signifying the multitude of immigrants that have come here for a better life. When cultures cross and embrace each other, it then becomes an opportunity for everyone else to do the same and learn from each other. We will always have a uniqueness that comes with who we are, but maybe now we can celebrate the greatness that lies within all of us, regardless of our background. Many of our family trees are as diverse as President Obama’s, but he’s the man in the spotlight and on the hot seat. He definitely needs our prayers and support. I truly believe he has a heart that wants the best for this nation. He’s already learned a lot in his first month of office and he’s only just begun.
This is SOOOOOO true!
I was raised hearing racially discriminative remarks all through my childhood. As an adult, I now take an obvious stand against ignorance.
For a long time, I didn’t hear any racist remarks. Since Obama has taken office, I have heard people everywhere of all walks of life and all statures, making very blatant racial remarks. I am committing to stand against them and call them out on it even more now than ever before. I refuse to allow people into my life who feel they can talk bad about a person simply because of the color of their skin! We are all children of God no matter the color of our skin!
Ok, here I come as the devil’s advocate (just a phrase, I am really an ambassador for Christ)
I think of all times to let the mindset, “of one drop of black blood makes you black”, runs it’s course, it’s now! There has been so much negative about having a drop of black in you thus making you black, that surely we can flip it and make having an ounce of black in you thus making you (the countries highest executive) black, a positive thing!!! Once you correct that and get on a soapbox to say, but he is only ½ black; the impact that we (blacks, whites, yellow) as a country came together to elect this man will be decreased to a more normal and ordinary thing. Many, many news stories have talked about the different vibe in the atmosphere of this country. They talk about people at inauguration being kind to each other. They talked about one stranger helping out another stranger and carrying their baby for them as they pushed the stroller. They talk about it being the biggest inauguration turn out and yet not one person was arrested! One big reason for the change in the atmosphere is because he is black. Whether we like it or not… and we should! Rarely does “just being black” cause such a positive reaction. If that November day after Obama was elected those zillion of news reporters would have said, “History has been made! The country has elected our first half black and half white president”, uh, I don’t think it would have been as powerful, although that is the truth. Maybe things would have unfolded a little differently.
I personally think, God is in this and he has given the black man buckets and buckets of encouragement with this turn of events! The white man doesn’t need that type of encouragement. The black man does. The white man doesn’t have to continually etch out his place in life, the world is his playground! He doesn’t have to make a name for himself, he started the names, and we attached on after the master slept with the slave and created babies, ie – Goodson. He doesn’t have to continuously prove himself. We do!
I really do get your point but as a black woman, if something positive comes out of being black and it isn’t hurting others, why not capitalize on it? Until and unless Barack says it bothers him that people consider him a black man only and not a bi-racial or tri-racial man, why not capitalize on it and declare a progression and make Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Indians, Loddie Doddie and everybody “feel” we have come a long way and change has got to happen because of this monumental event? If we dilute down his blackness, some of the power of the awesomeness of what this country has done will fade.
Yes!!!! Let’s pray for Obama and pray my strength in the Lord! (I am currently writing a prayer for Obama. One day I hope to give it to him.)
To much is given—much is required (regardless of race, religion or gender)
There is so much I have to say, but for now I’ll just say that we should just be proud Obama is who he is and our world has changed because of this man being elected our 44th president. I pray daily for him to be safe, protected, and to make the best decisions to move our country forward.
@Tom Sawyer –
Sir a Lexus is a Toyota. Just like a Cadillac is a General Motors product. Many of the Toyota and Lexus parts are the same peices with different stampings…such as window motors, starters and on and on…. My new Jag has Ford parts, which I find irrating.
Is he black enough? I knew that one was going to come up. That “one drop rule” is kind of true when you look at it from a scientific standpoint. Have you ever noticed that any race that mixes with white overtakes it? Anyways, Barack Obama is black. If he was an ordinary Joe and got pulled over by the police, they’d say “black male” not “mixed male”. Let’s not let the media sway our moment. We all know that if he messes up he’ll be black, so let’s keep it that way.
Hey Barry, good to hear from you. I agree with you on that last line, unfortunate but true.
If ever there was a “race rule” it would 100% have to been called the ‘One Drop Rule’. This is soooo true. Not only with White and Black mixed. Black and Mexican, 1/4 black and 1/4 Indian, and half white.. guess what you are if you skin is not white.. Black. I have been thinking to myself a lot lately about race in general and wondering why it is like this and is it a good thing or bad thing that if you have a drop your black. I came to think that its a good thing. Obviously when things go wrong they use it as a negative, but like Uncle Tom said, the other half of that must be some kind of dominance people see us as. But the whole Barack being black is part of this. Hes just automatically black, even in the words of white people. I am not complaining that people give him that tag, but its just crazy knowing that even white people call him black and not mixed, but like Barry said, it might just be setting him up for when he makes mistakes along the way. So for all the black people reading this, we cannot get mad when they say the black president of the United States made this so and so mistake.. Cause hes BLACK.
One last thing, and this could be a whole new topic, and I think on 7daybuzz it already was, but one thing that gets to me is when someone who is trying to sound professional (i.e. a news reporter, a political figure, etc.) say “…. and then the white male approached the African-American male and began…” IN MY OPIONION.. this is stupid. Is African-American used to remind us we originated from Africa? I might be alone with this opinion, but I hate hearing blah blah white male & blah blah African-American male in the same sentence. Just call me Black.
Kendall, that is a good point, a whole other topic, and one that has been addressed on 7daybuzz.com. However, due to the situation with our president and this ongoing and unresolved issue, let’s talk about it again. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on this topic. Thanks for your insights!
Kendall, I feel exactly the same way. I was talking with someone a couple of weeks ago and was telling them how it irritates me to see on applications African-American. Why in the world do we need to be reminded where we came from? Why is our place of origin more important than a person from Europe or Asia? I know nothing about Africa except what I’ve been told, read about, or saw on TV. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of my heritage but shoot. Call me black!
Kendall,
I like what you said. I’m almost to the point where I want to put under “other” BROWN when I have to put race since I am not the same color of my hair , which is black (well, part of it) I am BROWN and BROWN is BEAUTIFUL!! : )