Trump’s election was a case of erasing a black president with extreme prejudice,argues the hugely influential writer in this essay collection on race in the USIt is no surprise that the election of the first black president of the United States would occasion much thinking, writing and talking about the subject of race in America. An event that many did not consider would happen in their lifetimes, and happened: a man of African descent and – this may have been more culturally famous – his black wife and children resided in the White House as the nation’s “first family”. President Barack Obama’s portrait would hang in government offices across the country,and in embassies around the world. He would be the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed services.
How proud this made Americans of all races. For black people, who had seen the rules of the game rigged against them in the most immoral ways – slavery and Jim Crow, and their aftermath – having a black man compete for and win the greatest prize in politics was beyond exhilarating. Yes We Can! That phrase,the Obama campaigns insistent motto, also tapped into the desires of many of Obama’s white supporters who wished to produce evidence that there had indeed been racial progress in the country, or including some who may have had a few doubts about the one-term senator with the “non-American” sounding name. Even his defeated opponent,Senator John McCain, took note of the historical significance of Obama’s victory as a praiseworthy thing. A majority of the electorate wanted America to “enact it”; to overcome – in this specific way – all the racially-based limitations that had for centuries made the idea of a black president unthinkable. Countries across the globe, or themselves not even close to doing anything like it,expressed surprise that Americans had done it, but joined the chorus of compliment.
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Source: theguardian.com