Barack Obama’s election: Vindication, but with an asterisk

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17 years ago

Now that America has elected its first Black president, what happens next? What will Sen. Barack Obama’s historic ascent to the White House mean for African Americans and the state of race relations? In the week since Presidentelect Obama’s hi

In the week since President-elect Obama’s history-making event, pundits and editorial commentators have pondered these questions. So have I, which is why I will begin by saying to anyone at risk of getting it twisted: Electing a Black president in and of itself is not going to bridge the racial, income, education and equality gaps that persist in America. Folks, our work has just begun, and President Obama cannot do it all alone, nor should he be expected to.

Last weekend, the Chicago Urban League held its 47th annual Golden Fellowship Dinner at the Hilton Chicago. There, we launched our new campaign called Drive Change Now, created to engage the people of greater Chicago in the movement toward equality being waged right here at home. To drive change that lasts, we will need the intelligence and hard work of everyday citizens. Having a Black man in the White House might change perceptions of White Americans about Black people – no doubt, a step in the right direction – but we must remain diligent to ensure progress is made and that it sticks.

Now, I don’t mean to rain on your enthusiasm over the election of Chicago’s favorite son to the highest office in the land. Obama’s victory has ushered in an amazing time in our history. Many of us will forever remember the way we felt the moment we learned that the Illinois senator would become the first Black man in the Oval Office. Even Obama’s Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, praised Obama for his ability to unite people across the globe and graciously acknowledged the victory’s importance to African American people. To say so with such sincerity, I believe, revealed much about the true character of McCain, unencumbered by the tenets of slash and burn politics.

But just as President-elect Obama has wasted no time selecting the people who will lead his transition team, neither should we rest on laurels as it pertains to our continued struggle for civil rights. While Obama’s election is historic and will no doubt influence the intentions and aspirations of generations to follow, no one man can single-handedly reverse hundreds of years of inequality. If perceptions begin to lean that way, I see the development of a potentially dangerous mindset.

As president of a 92-year-old civil rights organization, nothing would please me more than to see the scales of justice and equality in America become balanced. But to think that will happen overnight is simply unrealistic. What Obama’s election has given us is a tremendous opportunity to repair the past, straighten out the present and promise to do right by one another, regardless of race, class, gender and ethnicity in the future.

In so many ways, Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream has been realized in recent months. Black America saw a tremendous outpouring of love, volunteerism and support from White Americans for Obama’s candidacy. There was no Bradley effect–the term coined to describe white Americans’ change of heart about electing a Black candidate once they reach the polls. There was no violence and no rioting, only one of the largest and most peaceful multi-racial gatherings ever to occur in Chicago on Election Night in Grant Park. There was no international backlash but instead widespread celebration, from Obama’s ancestral home of Kogelo, Kenya to Cologne, Germany, where church bells tolled in honor of his victory.

And, for us here at the Urban League, our annual fundraising gala could not have fallen on a better Saturday of the year. Electric, positive and uplifting is how I describe the tenor of the ballroom that evening. It was a night of coalition-building, commitment and pledged support for our agenda focused on economically empowering African Americans.

During this election, an overwhelming majority of Americans united around a cause simply known as “Change.” We cheered and cried together, and today, we are able to smile as we pass one another on the streets of Chicago. I pray we remain in lockstep in our march toward the Promised Land. I invite you to visit www.drivechangenow.org to find out how you can get involved in the Chicago Urban League’s movement to build an even better Chicago.

Cheryle R. Jackson is the president of the Chicago Urban League. She can be reached at president@thechicagourbanleague.org.