As I think about the historical significance of the inauguration of Barack Obama, I am struck by the number of historic firsts achieved by African Americans during my lifetime.
• Secretary of State: Colin Powell, 2001.
• Female Senator: Carol Mosely Braun, 1992.
• Female Astronaut: Mae Jemison, 1992.
• Winning Superbowl Head Coach: Tony Dungy, 2007
• Winning NCAA Basketball Championship Head Coach: John Thompson, 1984
• Ivy League President: Ruth Simmons, 2001.
• Oscar / Best Actress: Halle Berry, 2001.
• Golf Masters Champion: Tiger Woods, 1997
• Billionaire: Robert Johnson, 2001.
• Miss America: Vanessa Williams, 1984
Each one of these achievements sparked a sense of pride and reaffirmed the American dream that one can achieve the highest levels of success with determination, talent, and perseverance. These “firsts” also helped to dispel that skin color was an insurmountable deterrent. My mom told me I could do anything – and I believed. Mostly.
But as we celebrate these individual accomplishments I am also struck by the absence of societal gains. By all measures the income gap between African Americans and the majority population has increased. So has the educational gap, incarceration rates, life expectancy, and wage. Continuing with this list would just be depressing.
Why haven’t we been able to capitalize on Robert Johnson’s financial acumen to create more wealth in black communities? Why haven’t we been able to build upon Ruth Simmon’s talents in education to improve the reading and math skills of the African American youth? Why haven’t we been able to get more African American head coaches in College Football despite the obvious success and talents of the few African Americans that have been given the opportunity to coach at the professional and Division I level?
Why? Because we no longer focus on achieving societal goals - integration, equal access, voting rights – we are now defined by celebrating individual accomplishments.
Barack Obama’s Presidency marks the most significant individual African American achievement in our nation’s history. What will we celebrate next? All other individual accomplishments for African American will undoubtedly pale in comparison. I hope I witness something else, something noteworthy, something societal, to celebrate in our lifetime.
1 comment:
I respectfully disagree. Mr. Obama represents the worst African-American achievement ever, primarily because he is the most staunchly pro-eugenics/abortion president the U.S. has ever had. Watch this eye-opening documentary.
Post a Comment