The Right Direction

He's charismatic, he's smart and yes, America, he's black
Guest columnist | Vernon D. Johnson | Special to The Times

Vernon D. Johnson is professor of political science and American cultural studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

The excitement caused by Barack Obama's candidacy for the presidency has bewildered the pundits of both major political parties this year. His charisma and his message of building bridges have trumped arguments about his inexperience. He's black, but he hasn't run a campaign focusing on race. He's a black man who doesn't seem to have a chip on his shoulder toward whites. This puts white people at ease, and his rhetoric of bringing us all together makes them feel good about themselves, and the prospects for the country.

But now we have the controversial statements from the pulpit made by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of Sen. Obama's church in Chicago. Rev. Wright declared that the United States was founded on racism and is still a racist country. That this country was founded on racist principles and practices shouldn't be shocking to anyone who's had a decent U.S. history course. More controversial might be his statement that the country is still racist. But this is a view that is not uncommon in African-American communities.

Rev. Wright has also preached that our foreign policy is corrupt and that the Sept. 11 attacks were a case of "America's chickens ... coming home to roost." Again, in African-American circles, though everyone would not say that, many would, and it would become a launching point for a serious discussion about what really is wrong with our foreign policy. After all, anyone who knows the story of the origins of al-Qaida among U.S.-backed Islamic fundamentalists fighting the Soviet-supported regime in Afghanistan might see the plausibility of Rev. Wright's statement. The American and Israeli view that religious movements should be backed to oppose anti-American, secular, nationalist regimes in the Islamic world has turned out to be bad policy.

Along the same lines, Rev. Wright's observation that the U.S. has supported Israeli state-sponsored terrorism against the Palestinians and state-sponsored terrorism against black South Africans is a position that could be heard on Saturday morning in barbershops and beauty salons in virtually every African-American community in the country. Wright's stance that instead of singing "God Bless America," followers should call on God to "damn America" was perhaps too strong. But the fact that amens and shouts could be heard from the pews in response should challenge us to ask why African Americans are so angry about their country.

This is a telling moment for the Obama campaign, but also for 21st century America. Obama is black. He has consciously tied himself to the cultural and political life of African-American communities, and he used ties in those communities to launch his political career. When you get him as a candidate, you also get the voices of his constituencies in African-American communities. You get to hear the anger, the despair, the lack of hope that is so prominent among African Americans, especially the poor.

A Pew Charitable Trust poll from last fall showed the continuing pessimism of African Americans regarding American politics and policy. Only 44 percent of African Americans believe their prospects for the future are better than in their past. This is lower even than the numbers from the Reagan era, a time when many black people were also down on the direction of America.

Obama has suggested that he represents a new kind of leadership, with a superior policymaking judgment. In foreign policy, we hope Obama means not only superior judgment, but a completely new orientation toward international relations, featuring a robust multilateralism and greater development of the instruments of "soft power." In domestic policy, his persona has already offered us the opportunity to talk across the lines that divide.

An Obama presidency could be a platform for the country to engage in the "conversation on race" that Bill Clinton made a meek attempt at in his second term — a conversation predicated first on openness and some healing. And then if white folks can actually hear the pain and despair emanating from communities of color, policy changes may be forthcoming.

Or, maybe we won't have to use government. Maybe privileged whites will enroll in droves in Volunteers in Service to America, or Teach for America, or another of the hundreds of nonprofit organizations in this country that are trying to assist those who are disadvantaged. The sense that one gets from young whites about the possibilities of an Obama presidency demonstrates that they, like Obama, want a different kind of future for this country, and this world. The role of government is only part of how we construct that future, but leadership in the White House could be a very powerful step in that direction.