Should Africans Celebrate Obama’s Progress?

If they wish. In fact, I do not see why they should not. I myself am quite chuffed that he has made it this far.

However, in so doing, they should consider the following:

Obama is an American. I hear people referring to him as African-American. Let me digress a little. This is an appellation I find illogical. When a person is referred to as Africa-American, Italian American, Asian-American or any of those other Something-Americans, it implies two things: (a) this person is not the real article when it comes to Americanism – he or she is a hybrid; (b) there are other pure, unalloyed American-Americans and those are the real article. All others are fakes and wannabes. Since we all know that the only people with any real claim to that land are the people who were wiped out to make space for other people, we also know that apart from the few real Americans, everyone in that country is an immigrant, whether they were dragged there in chains or whether they came as conquering non-heroes, fortune-hunters, dishonest land-grabbers, indentured labour, or students.

Now, to return to Obama’s American-ness. Coloured (I use the term here only to take issue with it: what are the others, then? Colourless and therefore superior? Since when did human colourlessness become a virtue?) people all over the world have been celebrating as Mr Obama leaps from strength to strength. I concede that there is something to celebrate. Even fifty years ago, having a black man within hailing distance of the white house (except as a servant, of course) would have had the white supremacist terrorists out in force. And now millions of white people are voting for a black man. So, yes, there is something to celebrate.

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But although Obama is half black (and therefore half white, though some people on both sides of the racial divide would like to forget this for completely different reasons), he is wholly American. His foreign policy will be defined first and foremost by his American-ness, not by his blackness or his any-other-thing-ness. That is why he pledged to support Israel the other day. He did not pledge to support Vanuatu, or Malaysia, or Burkina Faso. What does that indicate?

It indicates that in matters of foreign policy, he may intend to continue along certain lines. I do not know what those lines may be (with the possible exception of Israel), but I have chosen to wait and see.

More specifically, what does it indicate for us Africans? I do not think, to take an example that affects me directly, that he is going to come to Francophone Africa and send the French scuttling back to France so we can get rid of their puppets and (mis)manage our own affairs at last. I do not think of Obama as Richard Coeur de Lion or Uthman dan Fodio. He is our brother, yes, but brotherhood has its limits. I fear he would not last six days if he tried to do anything really useful for us. He’ll have his hands full with his countrymen anyway. Oh yes, and with Israel.

Consider this too: even if Obama were the Messiah of modern America and really wanted to do something, it would be very difficult for him to do it at all. Let’s face it. The world is run by white men. The white men who run the world will have a significant influence on the choice of who is going to be in power in Washington. In spite of the effervescence in the press and online news comment pages, the people who vote that they are being influenced and manipulated in ways that they may not apprehend. Do you really think the military-industrial complex would let one president or the will of the people get in the way of business?

Therefore, even if Obama were kindly disposed towards the world’s meek and lowly, his hands would be quite effectively tied. To reflect a constant fear, if he tried too vigorously to untie them, a JFK-type tragedy might ensue.

Obama is a politician. I will not quote the adage that begins with politics and ends with business. However, I will say that no one who enters the business of wielding power over human beings is there for the sole benefit of those human beings. You have to be fairly warped to enter politics. I admit that some people are warped in a nice way and others in a way that is not nice at all.

Campaign finance. The political system is organised in a way that only allows people who can collect enough money to run an expensive campaign to have a decent shot at achieving their aims. Obama has collected huge sums of money, we are told. Some of it is from individuals. But some of it might come from powerful vested interests. When people fund your campaign, they do so because they want you to speak for them. And if Mr Obama were to become president and wanted a second term, he would do well, if he has accepted money from these vested interests, to see that such interests are protected. I do not know whether he has, mind you. But this is something to consider when we look forward to what his presidency might bring to his country and to the world. One of the abiding truths about politicians is that they know how to look out for number one.

And talking of second terms, if, as president, Mr Obama intends to institute radical reforms, he would have to do so bearing in mind that he would probably not get a second term. The real powers would not make the mistake of letting a real reformer stay in the white house for longer than necessary. So, whatever his views, Mr Obama as president might have to compromise on some issues in order to stay in power, if that is what he seeks.

So what can Obama do anyway?

Racial politics. In an article in the June issue of Le Monde Diplomatique, Walter Benn Michaels argues that Obama’s impact will not be at the level of ideology (where, Mr. Benn says, there is little to choose between him and Clinton); the change will be cultural. This means the change in racial attitudes. The hopes of Africans depend on whether this change in racial attitudes will seep into America’s foreign policy under an Obama presidency.

Still with regard to race, if Mr Obama became president, he would set a precedent for real power wielded by a black person. He would have to play an important trailblazing role. He would have to be careful to ensure that any measures he tool do not reflect adversely on people of African descent. That in itself is a lot of work. It may well seriously hamper him because he would be too busy trying to be careful to do anything worthwhile.

However Mr Obama is not president yet and may never be. This is just me getting ahead of myself.

But who am I kidding? I want him to win. I want him to win because even if he is a politician, he is at least half black. That makes him fully black in some eyes. Because, in spite of my fears and scepticism, I see him as embodying the hope of countless millions. In fact, it is because of my hope that I have to express my doubts. I have to have some hope that something will change in America. The prospect of things continuing as they are is too bleak to contemplate. I see Mr Obama as the person most likely to bring about that change. So in spite of my hair-splitting about racial appellations, I think of him as black too. I cannot afford not to. He is my only hope.

Mr Obama is not the Messiah. But for millions of black people, he is probably the closest thing to a saviour they will ever get in this age.

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Comments

[Ma Mary]

There is something about people who have been beaten down once too often: they keep their expectations very tempered, very low. That way their hearts would not be broken one more time. It is reasonable for Africans to keep their expectations low for Obama and you are following those guidelines well.

But there is one thing that an Obama victory would do better than 1000 world cup victories. It is that boost to our collective souls that might cause many Africans who would have otherwise given up, to dare to accomplish greater things. My God, I wish Obama well so much that it hurts, but I do not expect anything from him personally. I know what he faces, and you outlined it so well.

[Linda Sterling]

Well thought out piece, and as a "white" American (of Polish descent ...)would suggest this article finds its way to Mr. Obama! One of the BIGGEST problems we Americans have is that our media (TV, radio, print, etc) is arrogantly skewed towards only one way of thinking ... the American-biased way, hence the "people" ... of whom most average Americans are decent, fair-minded, law-abiding, kind and gentle souls ... hear only what the talking heads & politicians want us to hear. That, unfortunately, blinds most to the global view of us, and then we all come off looking like self-absorbed, war-mongering, racist baffoons!
Our country, like so many others, is in the middle of a train wreck, mainly because our leaders have ignored our wants and needs and put greed, special interest groups, power and control ahead of anything else. Is Obama the "answer" to our problems and the "Messiah" to lead us back onto the right track .... maybe yes, maybe no ... but he has energized the spirit of a lot of people, and perhaps that spirit is all we need to stand up as a strong nation of people and start to reverse the wrongs this present administration has incurred on the world. Sometimes all we need is hope ... packaged in black or white. Thank You

[jerry lininger]

hello there from America! i have been following Mr. Obama and his campain. i don't know if he would help this country or not. We are so messed up here. the war with iraq, the economy, and so on. i am white and my daughter is half black. she lives with her mother in another state in the U.S. it would be good if he was in the white House (which is named because it was painted white) because everyone would really put to rest a lot of questions about the black race. As for the African-American, asian-american, and so on isn't it ironic that my race name is white or caucasion and don't have anything called american behind it! All other races have American after there race. anyway i like your comments and hope that everything in your home country will get better. Thanks for reading this. jerry

[Kamer]

Excellent write-up! Couldn't have put it better myself. I wholly agree with it.

[Jim Jay]

Good piece - thanks!

[Don Thieme]

I heard some NPR commentator last night call Barack Obama a "hybrid." That got my goat, but there does seem to be something different about him compared to the rest of black America. John Lewis is speaking tonight and implied that he will have some interesting things to say about this. Because he is not descended from slaves, Obama lacks some of their anger but perhaps also some of their commitment to the black community.

[Harold and Carol Smith]

29 August 2008

Hi Rosemary – Your thoughtful and stimulating item on Obama really set me thinking. As someone who blew the whistle on British dirty work in Nigeria (which the US has kept quiet about) I am currently treated with contempt by the State Department and Whitehall. (In 1960, however, when the CIA warned me that the Brits were seriously planning to kill me, I was offered refuge in Washington and given a secret password and emergency phone number, which worked.)

I am hoping that if, by a miracle, Obama makes it and is not assassinated, he could help get my book (banned from publication in UK) published in USA. I am torn in two about the compromises he is having to make. Even a free spirit with clipped wings, who can’t rise high enough to sort out all America’s dreadful problems, would be preferable to anyone else we could think of.

If I send him the generous blog you did about ‘Harold Smith and his Internet book’, he may not respond and will leave me out in the cold. Yet, yet, yet… whatever. He is a great guy, though we need the reminder by you, Rosemary, that maybe he is helping ‘dirty’ America chain him to a rock in the wilderness.
Harold Smith

[Gilles]

What a good piece of write up, I can not agree more with you as I also do with ma Mary's comment. There is nothing I cherish more about Obama's ascendancy to the limelight than the boost it will give to black man's ego.

[Annette Bradford]

While I found this article interesting, there are so many things I cannot understand or agree with.
First of all, as an African-American (which means of African decent, not a wanna be American as you stated), I must say we do not look at Obama as a messiah/saviour. We look at him as one we have chosen to represent us in the White House. The choices were made from a field of contenders, and Obama has been the choice of MILLIONS--Black, White, Asian, Latino and Native-Americans. Do you really think it is that simple? Is that the impression you have of Afrian-Americans (Blacks)?
Do you really think we are looking for a saviour? We, as fellow American brothers and sisters, are tired of the way our politics have been run in the country, favoring the rich and wealthy, while the hard-working, middle class and low income families have to struggle more. It's about fairness and balance. Barack Obama has been where a lot of people are, and more than any other candidate, understands how the struggle contuines.
Please be clear and do not fall for the rhetoric being sent out about African-Americans and their views of Obama. We are proud of him and his wife Michelle. Both have studied and worked hard (just as millions of other African-Americans). Obama is just lke most of us, but there is something so special about him. It shows int he way people respond to him, especially in person.
Don't be fooled...Obama is no messiah...but he is our choice for the next President of the United States of America!!

Obama/Biden '08

[Randy]

I agree with you that Americans should never be called African-American, Italian American ect. The one thing that bothers me regarding Obama supporters that are black is there recognition of his color. A person that is 100% non racist will never mention color. He just sees people for what they are, as human. With that said, I think no one should ever celebrate someone's color. 100 years from now maybe the senate will be 80% black. When that happens should the white man or the yellow man celebrate when they get a seat? I believe all humans should look at each other as people made in the image of God.

[Ma Mary]

Randy, well spoken, but it is quite obvious that you do not understand the reality of the United States. What you are describing is France, which does not recognize the realities of history and pretends that there are no consequences to centuries of racism, colonialism and slavery, whose consequences need to be addressed over a period of time before that equality of which you speak comes to be. In this respect, America is much more advanced with its hyphenated Americans. The only way America becomes equal is if the x American looks at the y American, loves her and accepts her for herself. When that happens we can drop our labels and relax. It is a process, and America has much to teach about that. That is the true value of America to the world, including Africa, the fair and respectful management of diversity in order to create unity. You do not erase people or wipe out inconvenient parts of people. You include them and people in their wisdom and recognition of fairness also compromise.