“So, are you saying that you are voting for Obama because he’s black”?

In the year 2007, Barack Obama announced to America that he was running for president of the United States. Obama was not the first African American to ever run for president of the United States. In 1984, Jesse Jackson ran for president, however he did not win. One of the reasons that he probably did not win this election was because there were thick racial tensions in America during this time. America as a whole was not ready to have a black president in office.

So, 23 years later, another black man runs for president. What makes him stand out? Well first of all, Barack Obama is a democrat. Most African Americans today identify with the democratic political party. So, this is one reason that black people showed a little interest in him. Secondly, Barack Obama isn’t just Barack Obama. He’s Senator Obama. He is the fifth African American to ever serve in the United State Senate. This is a great impression to many black people. A few months after becoming senator, he spoke at the Democratic National Convention. John Kerry was the presidential candidate. Barack Obama gave a remarkable speech that impacted many democrats and maybe even a few republicans. Many people did not see that particular speech; however, he gave many speeches as a presidential candidate. When he gave his speeches, he spoke well. He sounded intelligent. He meant what he said he was passionate about what he believed in. He promoted change in America in a way that many other presidents had not done before. Barack This was appealing to many Americans, especially the black community. So, if he can speak well and he is a senator, doesn’t that mean that he has to have some sort of an education? This brings me to the third reason why he stands out. Barack Obama is a very educated man. He graduated from Columbia university with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He also graduated from Harvard Law in 1991.

So, we have this democratic, good looking, intelligent, black man that is running

for president in 2007. But is America ready to see a black man as Commander in Chief? Well for most of the African American community, the answer was yes. Barack Obama was qualified to serve as president. He had already accomplished so much. He would be a great representation of the African American community and he would make us proud. However, to many white people, being an educated black man was not a good enough reason to be president. One question that came up a lot during his presidential candidacy was, “If a white man with the same credentials as Barack Obama was running for office, who would you choose”? If an African American would answer yes, there would be another question that followed. The next question was, “So, are you saying that you are voting for Obama because he’s black”? And the answer for many African Americans would be yes again. So why is the answer yes to both of these questions? Well, the African American race have overcome many obstacles. Slavery and segregation are just two of the many struggles that African Americans have had to face. Many people never believed that they would live to see a black president. Now, there an opportunity to turn a fantasy into a reality. This is why

many African Americans say that they would vote for Barack Obama because he is black.

-Brenee’

#Brenee