Beyond the Spin: Reflecting on Obama's win

I was at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High stadium when Barack Obama gave his speech accepting his party's presidential nomination. Later, I eagerly watched the general election returns in the news offices of the Baltimore Afro, where I was serving as an editorial consultant. And I was on the Mall on Tuesday to witness Obama being sworn in as the nation's 44th president.

Still, the reality of an African American becoming president of the United States did not sink in until I saw a Jumbotron image of Obama inside the Capitol just minutes before he would come outside to take the oath of office.

"This is really going to happen," I told myself, barely holding back tears. "He really is going to be president of the United States."

And a few minutes later, he was. No, I had not been dreaming; this was real.

I don't know why I could not quite accept the reality of Obama becoming president until moments before it happened. Maybe it was the slight possibility that the Supreme Court could inexplicably rule that he was not a native-born citizen and was therefore ineligible to hold the office. Maybe it was that the Electoral College might somehow declare John McCain the winner. Or maybe some sick person might harm the president-elect before the Secret Service could intervene.

Most likely, it's because of my background. I grew up in segregated Tuscaloosa, Ala., and I know what it was like to ride in the back of the bus, drink from segregated water fountains, and delay going to the bathroom until I got home so I could avoid using a "colored" toilet. I was in 10th grade when Gov. George C. Wallace made his famous stand in the schoolhouse door at the University of Alabama, in my hometown.

My world has gone from those types of experiences to Barack Obama living in the White House. And now that he is there, I find it hard to listen to the shallow, senseless pabulum on cable TV and talk radio. Many of the commentators have no connection to the world I have lived in, and few seem to comprehend why Obama's election will not eliminate the need for a vibrant civil-rights movement.

We are repeatedly told that Obama is the first black president, as if we need to be constantly reminded. Yes, he is an African American in the truest sense of the words. And the black community is understandably proud that someone finally removed the "white men only" sign from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

But many white Americans also are proud that the color barrier has been broken. A country that once enslaved people from Africa now has a person of African descent as its leader. Beyond slavery, Jim Crow laws were in effect until the mid-1960s. Obama's election represents a clean break from that past.

At this stage, it's hard to avoid a discussion of race when talking about Barack Obama. That's not always a bad thing, especially if it helps society to be more open and honest about the issue.

What's bad is defining people solely by their race. Let's not forget that Barack and Michelle Obama, in addition to being African Americans, have two Ivy League degrees each. He graduated from Columbia University and she finished Princeton before both graduated from Harvard Law School.

Most people recognize that, in addition to having an excellent education, Barack Obama is an extremely talented person, just the type of individual to lead us out of our current mess. As someone pointed out, when your house is on fire, you don't care if the fireman is black or white. You just want someone to put out the fire.

And it's quite a fire: We're at war with two countries, the economy is gravely ill, the deficit is at a record level, tensions have escalated in the Middle East, and many domestic issues need to be addressed.

And even with a black president, racial disparities still need to be eliminated. Consider the following:

The life expectancy of whites still exceeds that of blacks by 5.1 years.

The median income of a white family was $64,427 in 2007, compared with $40,143 for a black family.

The official unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2008 was 6.1 percent for whites and 11.4 percent for blacks.

In 2007, 10.6 percent of whites were living in poverty ($21,000 or less for a family of four). The figure for African Americans was 24.4 percent.

Young black men are more than five times as likely to be imprisoned as young white men.

Despite what the talking heads tell you, we're a long way from a post-racial society. But Obama's election moves us one step closer.