As I have two big deadlines looming this week, I am hosting five guest bloggers on LL's Metropolis. The first of which was written by Tom Houck for Pine Magazine. Now I don't know Mr. Houck, however, Pine creator Holly Lang and I go back to my surreal days as a City Hall reporter in Birmingham, Alabama. Daring, creative and energetic, when Ms. Lang left 'Bama, she moved on to greater things in Atlanta where she started her magazine. She's also penned a definitive biography on the life, career and unsolved murder of rapper Biggie Smalls. It's all really great stuff. Thanks to her and Mr. Houck for this interesting piece.
 
Originally Posted on Pine: 02/06/2008


"The assumption is that the American people will succumb to fear and doubt and will not trust their instincts".

 
Does race matter? A Kenyan/Kansan named Barack Obama thinks not and early results in the race for the presidency of the US are proving him correct, as Obama swept through the Super Tuesday primaries, picking up delegates for 13 states.
 
But wait, when we talk about race in the first years of the 21st century, when we dialogue in diversity groups, when we drink a beer at the local watering hole, when we take a look at who's in prison and poverty, we can't ignore that indeed race does still matter.
 
In recent times, two African-American's have made serious bids for President - Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Both were perceived by white America as being too black, and only interested in advancing a black agenda. Both went down in flames. While their presence grew in the Democratic Party and the media continued to spotlight them as national "black" spokesmen, their appeal largely was concentrated on issues that required street action, not the brokering of big ideas.
 
So, what is it about Barack Obama that is changing the dynamic on race in America?
 
Does race still matter?
 
Since the time when the first slaves arrived by boat from West Africa to the shores of Charleston and Savannah, the most segregated hour of the week was Sunday morning. Blacks worshiped with blacks — white across town with whites. Today, for the most part, the pattern is unchanged.
 
But, last month when Obama made a visit on a Sunday morning to Macon, Georgia, he choose not to attend services at a traditionally black church, but to instead head to the multiracial Harvest Cathedral, a mega church where the congregation is both white and black with a healthy dose of Asians and Latinos. Obama felt comfortable in the environment as he looked out at a literal rainbow of congregants.
 
Of mixed parentage, Obama does not try to dispel the notion that he is black. He has made it crystal clear that he is an "African-American". What stands him apart is not his color but his approach to politics.
 
Oprah Winfrey, one of Obama's first high profile supporters, may best represent what we are seeing in this Democratic Party primary. Oprah is idolized by millions of white women. Her color doesn't matter, she talks to her audience about shared problems — such as weight control, beauty, food and family. She never the less addresses significant issues on race, gender and global problems. She is able to make folks feel comfortable and makes race a non-consideration.
 
In the New York Times, Kirk Johnson recently wrote of Obama, "We agree to agree and forgot to notice.” That of course does not mean we are "colorblind.” What it says is the message transcends race and for the first time in our country's history the message of a political leader making sense just happens to be that of a black man.
 
So does race still matter?
 
At the Augusta National Golf Club, you will find few members of color, but you will find plenty of photos adorning the walls of Tiger Woods in his green Masters championship blazer. Tiger is adored by white male golfers, because he is better than most of them and he does not wear race on his sleeve.
 
Is Obama the Tiger Woods of politics? No, he is the real deal. Unlike Tiger, Barack does not shy away from his blackness and his message resonates as much in the hoods as in the heights. He is also a gifted orator who can give a speech so spellbinding and hit on all the keynotes, that it leaves his audience with moist eyes and goose bumps.
 
Chuck Todd, political director of NBC News, likes to refer to the Obama's success by utilizing the words of Buffalo Springfield —"There's something happening out here... what it is... is not exactly clear.”
 
Caroline Kennedy, the sole survivor of the last transformation president, recently told America that it was her children her convinced her to jump aboard the Obama train. It was his inspiration and his message of change that reminded so many of her father. Now, the heiress to the Camelot days is out on the hustings for Barack carrying his torch and that message.
 
After centuries of apartheid and only 43 years since Lyndon Johnson uttered the words "We Shall Overcome," have we really placed the race relations accelerator on high speed? Probably not, but don't tell that to Barack Obama, who has the audacity to hope and as he frequently chants with his throngs "YES WE CAN!"
 
History is in the making. Democrats will either nominate the first women or black to be their nominee. The chances of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama taking the oath next January appear to this observer to be better than 50-50.
 
So does race matter? Race sits with us everyday. There are far too many who use it as a weapon to pit people against people and wage divisive measures to keep people of color down or make issues of the language a wedge issue to frighten and scare.
 
Yet there is a new convergence of culture and politics, especially with a new generation of black and white voters crying out to put racial barriers behind us. These are young voices born long after Martin Luther King's "I have a dream", or John F. Kennedy's, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country". 
 
There's a new school out there today that learns and admires from the old school, but applies a new spin on the future. A transformation is taking place, and while it may or may not happen this year, the seeds are planted. Not on a false hope, but on a hope that is real with a kind spirit, not a vengeance. 
 
Yes, they'll still be those nice little lies when voters tell pollsters they will vote for a black but won't when they get inside the booth. They'll still be those using the race card to further their political agenda, and unfortunately for too many years yet to come, we'll find too many at the bottom of the economic ladder to be people of color.
 
But this year, the year of Barack Obama, has forever changed the body politic. This is a year when droves of Americans are voting for a smile not a smirk. And who knows America might go BLACK!