The President Is Not Black

He is not black. He is not white. He is black and white. For those Americans who hate that we have a black man in the White House, you can rest easy. He is not black. At least you can console yourselves with the fact that he is half white. And the half that is white comes from your part of America. Super white America.


As for those Americans who think he might not be black enough: what is black enough? He is not black. He is black and white.

As a white person, I sometimes think about what would have happened if he was the color of my black and white granddaughter, who came out white. But she is also black. Sometimes it bothers me that he doesn’t talk about this, being uniquely qualified to do so.

I am really proud of the half of him that is white. I am also proud of the half of him that is black. But that isn’t the point.. I am proud that he is our President, black or white, black and white. When he was elected, I hoped that we might be achieving one of Dr. King’s dreams:…”that [his] four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Ironically, now that we have a black and white President, ours has become a country that thinks in black and white. We see it the way we see it, we seek out others who see the world the way we see it. We have become easy liars, as long as something or someone supports our point of view. We have no content in our character. (sorry Dr. King).

We’re an I’m right and you’re wrong kind of place. We’re an I’m going to vote against you even if I agree with you kind of place. We’re an I can be dumber than you are kind of place.

The Senate Minority “leader,” elected to serve the people, set as his first priority to “defeat Barack Obama.” When he first said that, the President had just been inaugurated. The President hadn’t done anything good or bad. He hadn’t done anything black or white.

The rest of the world knows we have lost our collective minds. We are universally ridiculed when we used to be admired for going along to get along, being problem solvers, seeking the best and highest use for what we do. We could move fast, we were the innovators, we looked after other people — even people in other countries.

Here in the U.S.A., we are moving towards a population base that will be more brown and white, more black and white, more and more mixed up that it will be black, white or brown. We will be a place that is visibly consistent with Lady Liberty’s vision.

So we should be on notice that it will be far better to be judged by the content of our character than by the color of our skin. We’d better get going. ###