Prejudice at the Forefront

by Keith Cooper

From Broader View Weekly, April 18, 2008

Thankfully, the current election year has brought the issue of racism to the public forefront. It is easy for complacency to set in as we look at our progressive social construct with all its diversity. As this year’s presidential contest becomes more and more about race we are reminded that racial hatred, and more importantly, widespread prejudice is alive and thriving even in the 21st Century.

One need only observe the frequency with which Barack Obama’s middle name Hussein is bandied about as an effective scare tactic by those who would make the entire Arab world our enemy or equate Islam with evil.

Recent polls among primary and caucus goers found many who claim they would never vote for a black man for president. Others said the same about voting for a woman. Despite years of struggle for civil rights and suffrage, such gender and racial prejudice still grips many and remains an issue that should grab our attention if we seek to overcome our sins of the past.

That struggle for freedom from the oppression of racial hatred compelled Obama’s minister to make the comments that continue to haunt the senator’s campaign. His words came from a frustration that Pat Robertson never knew. His perspective is much different than is Geraldine Ferraro’s. Reverend Wright comes from a place closer to Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., who voiced similar criticisms of the government of the United States in the tumults of the sixties. Still, the criticism of Wright contrasts the reverence of King.

In fact, the most inflammatory comment of Wright’s rantings was a condemnation of America not unlike the one Reverend Jerry Falwell attributed to God when he asserted that 9/11 was the punishment for the horrible sin of tolerance.

The good news during this election cycle is that a woman and a black man have gotten so far amid the lingering tangles of racism and sexism. 2008 could be a turning point in our history when we embrace our commonalities and begin to ignore our differences.

2008 should be the year we stop persecuting individuals for their sexual preferences and treat them like fellow humans with the same rights to the pursuit of happiness the Constitution affords the rest of Americans.

2008 should be the year we begin the journey to healthcare and education for all regardless of race, ethnicity or station.

2008 should be the year we address the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, instead of perpetuating the current policy of class warfare.

2008 should be the year we stop using religion as a weapon and honor the spirit of religious freedom the Constitution’s framers sought.

We must stop crying “reverse racism” and mourning the plight of people like Don Imus whose consequences suit their actions. White America is not being perpetually punished for the sins of slave owners or the racial oppression of the Deep South. But, we cannot try to ignore that those dark stains are indelible on our history. We must move on toward the progressive nation we hope to be, but we should be mindful of the prejudice that would block our path.