Race...The Final Frontier

It's time to Break It Down!

One of my favorite TV shows, and movies/sequels is Star Trek. Many of you no doubt recall the familiar phrase, “Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Well, we are nowhere near the 23rd Century, of course, but, a decade into the 21st Century, it is patently clear that contrary to what many hoped, and others believed, we are yet to successfully traverse the frontier of race; never mind space.

This matter takes on particular relevance as we dial in on the second half of the first year of what a number of my friends like to refer to as the post-Obama era, what others have labeled a post-racial society…and what, Thursday of next week, CNN will deem, “The Second Hundred Days!” I can still vividly recall the heady and halcyon days of our most recent Presidential campaign, and the full-throated debate that took place in many circles, regarding the importance of a then, “potential,” Obama victory.

First, to convey the gist of a post-Obama era, think about BC and AD; sign posts in the Gregorian and Julian calendars, separating the time before Jesus’ birth, and that time after the start of his epoch. Similarly, pre-Obama is symbolized by the time before November 8, 2008; post-Obama began November 8, 2008. On the calendar, there is no year zero, AD started with the birth of Jesus; BC included all time before then. Likewise, there is no buffer between pre- and post-Obama. The pre-Obama era lasted until late in the evening on Election Day. The post-Obama era began the moment the networks announced he had secured the Electoral votes necessary to become President.

So is there a palpable significance to this moment; something you can see, hear, taste, touch, or smell? And if there is, how does it make itself known? What form does it assume?

Well, I place it in the terms my friends used to frame it a year ago. Many of them believed, if, and for several, when, Barack Hussein Obama ascended to the Presidency, it would be a sign, or send a signal that the United States of America, Land of the Free; Home of the Brave, America the Beautiful, My Country ‘Tis Of Thee, This Land Is My Land…write in your own favorite anthem, had finally separated itself from the oppressive bonds of racialism.

In a parallel universe kind of way, blacks and whites alike adopted alternate chapters of the same book. Blacks, by and large, seemed to hope that through the singular accomplishments of Barack Obama, they would somehow collectively be rid of the myriad stereotypes that after hundreds of years are still all too frequently used to characterize an entire race as shiftless, shady, lazy, dangerous, and worse. Meanwhile, whites frequently espoused the opinion that electing Obama would at long last, finally relieve them of the weight of the ignominious Scarlet R; moreover, that they could then close that chapter…forever!

…Please; fagetaboutit! The spotlight on the matter of race is even brighter today, due at least in part to the current docudrama now familiarly known as “The President, The Professor, and The Policeman.” In short, on July 16th, a Harvard professor, Henry Louis (Skip) Gates, Jr. was arrested at his home, and charged with disorderly conduct after a confrontation with Cambridge police officer James Crowley. Gates is African American, the police officer is white, and President Obama, a friend of the professor, weighed in on the matter, saying “the Cambridge Police acted stupidly.”

In short order, the police department cried foul, the President retreated, and, the rest, as they say, is history. The nation has since then been engaged in a riveting, roiling controversy on race that elbowed the Health Care Reform debate from center stage, and even managed to push the ever increasingly macabre, month long (and counting) Michael Jackson saga into a secondary position in the media maelstrom. Interestingly, the much ballyhooed Black in America 2 never had a chance to build on the baseline of critical acclaim that last year’s two segments garnered, because of the resulting fallout from Cambridge.

Even more ironically, the Cambridge Police Department had dropped the charges against Professor Gates a day before the President’s comments. So, while it is fair to say even though the matter has not been squashed, there was a good chance it was on its way to a settlement, negotiated between the two parties. Not now; no way!

The President found himself in the unenviable position of feeling compelled to invite the two parties to the White House for a beer. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, inherently. The President already claims a personal relationship with Gates, and one can never have too many acquaintances who are members of “The Thin Blue Line.” Yet, when one considers the precarious state of the development and roll-out of pending Health Care Reform legislation, does the President really have quality time to devote to this imbroglio of his own creation? The short answer is he’d better!

Of course, I am NOT into dictating President Obama’s agenda, as a rule. But if anything became clear, as the fallout from Gates’ arrest, and Obama’s subsequent scathing review permeated the air ways, it is Americans still hold passionately disparate views on race. A noteworthy sub-plot may also have emerged. Many blacks criticized candidate Obama, otherwise erudite, urbane; even candid, for presenting a classically milquetoast stance on race matters, as he artfully scaled the lofty heights of the campaign. Alternately, many whites praised his post-racial posture. This cross-racial disconnect notwithstanding, his 2008 Philadelphia Statement on Race was widely hailed as balanced, temperate, and unifying. Still, that translated as non-threatening for some.

But by facing a reporter, and the nation, in a press conference and uttering the words, “the Cambridge police acted stupidly,” President Obama played a Joker, and in doing so changed the game. Yes, there are countless details to sift through. Sure, Skip Gates may be his friend. No, he may not have heard a full airing of all the facts. Absolutely, he was laboring under the intense pressure of the incredibly strategically important Health Care Reform debate.

But when you get right down to it, what happened, finally, was Barrack Hussein Obama II, for the first time as President of the United States, conceded publicly the obvious reality of “Race…The Final Frontier!” He laid bare a crack in his otherwise steely veneer. He spoke with the obvious empathy one feels when acknowledging a friend’s plight. He made a comment openly reflecting, and I might add, identifying with, the pent up anguish black men all across America experience, naturally and regularly. He spoke from the heart.

Now let us not be confused. He did not speak with prudence or restraint. He was not fully apprised of Officer Crowley’s side of the story, nor of his apparent distinguished record, including in the area of diversity. He was likely unaware of the extent to which Professor Gates gave the officer an ear-full. In the 20/20 vision of hindsight, observers from Colin Powell to Willie Brown have opined both the professor and the policeman could have handled the matter better.

In the end, however, the President, inviting the professor, and the policeman for a Beer Summit at the White House tomorrow may be just what the doctor ordered for this particular encounter. But more important, the President finding his voice on this critical subject…at last…is definitely the right prescription for moving this inestimably important topic and our Country forward at this crucial juncture in time. President Clinton called upon John Hope Franklin to carry the freight as Chair of his Race Commission. President Obama has volunteered himself. He needs to strike while the iron is white hot and take the next step in moving this issue and the debate that goes with it, forward. If he does, who knows? Perhaps we will be able to look back on the second decade of the 21st Century as both post-Obama and post-racial.

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/. A new post is published each Wednesday.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_no_man_has_gone_before

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/07/20/us/AP-US-Harvard-Scholar-Disorderly.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072001358.html

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=528584

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/21/massachusetts.harvard.professor.arrested/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/download/2009/0720/20120754.pdf

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2009/07/obama_cambridge.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23690567/

http://wbztv.com/local/obama.comment.cambridge.2.1097782.html

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Politics/2009/07/28/Gates-Crowley-to-share-beer/1248812122.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/28/powell.palin/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates,_Jr.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ogletree

http://www.laprogressive.com/2009/04/04/rejecting-post-racility-an-ode-to-the-life-of-john-hope-franklin/