Obama says it's not about race

By: Arthur W. Hunt

Posted: 9/23/09

When former Democratic President Jimmy Carter said in a recent interview that an overwhelming portion of the protests surrounding health care reform showed animosity toward President Obama because he was black, you could see Brain Williams' jaw drop to his chest.

Apparently, Williams sensed big news was in the making. Indeed, Carter's comments dominated the news cycles last week.

Carter went on to say the racism inclination still exists for us - that there are many white people who don't think African-Americans are qualified to lead the country.

Even Bill Cosby chimed in, writing on Facebook that he agreed with Carter, and that racism was playing a role in recent outbursts against the President (e.g. "You lie!" as expressed by Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina).

August sizzled for legislators returning to their districts to discuss health care reform. Some of the protests got overly vocal. Even our own John Tanner got an ear full from residents of Weakley County.

But can one disagree with the President of the United States and not be a racist?

Well, the President himself thinks so, and therefore distanced himself from Carter's remarks. In a round of Sunday news show appearances Obama said he thought racism was not an overriding issue in the debate over health care.

Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he welcomed a healthy debate over the role of government, something that has been an important part of the republic's history.

As I was watching the "Meet the Press" interview on Sunday, I felt proud that we have a president who acknowledges that some people in the country have serious concerns about the growing size of government.

The President was courageous enough to say that you can disagree with him and not be a racist.

This is why Barack Obama is sitting in the White House right now. He intentionally made race a non-issue in his campaign. His speech on race given in Philadelphia during the campaign was nothing short of brilliant. It was brilliant because he spoke to all Americans and not just to his party. He cast the issue of race in the terms and values of the Constitution, while at the same time admitting the complexities and subtleties of issues surrounding race.

We should not be surprised that he does not want to make race an issue in important policy decisions. He correctly understands that most Americans want to get beyond race and instead focus on solving the country's problems.

Does this mean racism no longer exists? Of course not, but it is a bit of a stretch to say, as Carter did, that the overwhelming portion of people who are vocal about health care reform harbor negative feelings for the President because of his skin color.

David Brooks of the "New York Times" wrote an opinion piece last week in which he provided some firsthand proof for the lack of racism among those who are currently making themselves vocal. While jogging in Washington D.C. he found himself among thousands of anti-government "tea party" protesters. Nearby there was another gathering consisting of several thousand Black Family Reunion Celebrants.

Brooks noticed the Tea Party protesters mingling freely with the Black Celebrants. The Tea Party people were buying lunch from the Black Celebrants, and even joined them in listening to a rap concert.

Brooks, who observed the two groups for sometime, said, "I couldn't discern any tension between them."

Perhaps we have turned a corner on race. Let's hope so.

Dr. Arthur Hunt is assistant professor of communications and faculty sponsor of the National Association of Black Journalists at UTM.