KU Black Student Union members comment on race in the presidential election
Published on Mon., November 3rd, 2008
Members of the KU Black Student Union shared opinions and concerns about Tuesday’s presidential election, and the uncertain future that surrounds it at a forum discussing the role of race in the election.
Some students expressed anger at the involvement of Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) ethnicity in the coverage of this year’s election, and said the pressures and expectations put before the candidate should have more to do with his policies than his background.
The members of the Black Student Union, from front left: Koga Moffor, Overland Park senior; Amanda Muhammad, Overland Park sophomore; Kameron Mack, Witchita freshman; Danielle Cooper, Kansas City freshman; Camille Clark, Kansas City senior; Kamau Thompson, Overland Park senior; and Martin Okekearu, Kansas City senior, are discontent with the media's coverage of Barack Obama's (D-IL) race in this year's election. The students agreed that the media emphasizes more on Obama's Kenyan lineage than his policies.
Photo by Jerry Wang
Dorthy Pennington, professor of African-American studies, has taught classes about African-Americans’ roles in society for more than 30 years and said she couldn’t believe that the United States was still having discussions and arguments about race. Pennington said though Barack Obama represented change and hope, he also represented an unsure future for race relations in the United States.
“I think that race in America still has a lot of baggage. We don’t quite know what to do with it,” Pennington said. “We wonder, ‘is Obama’s race a good thing, a bad thing or a neutral thing?’”
The possibility of electing a black president was significant for Ryan Moose, Wichita senior, who has a 2-year-old daughter.
“My daughter will grow up not knowing a time when we thought a black person couldn’t be president,” Moose said. “She will grow up in a time where black people can do anything white people can.”
Krista Curette, Port Arthur, Texas, senior, said she was worried about voters’ education about policies and issues because of some bias in news coverage.
Other BSU students agreed with Curette that there was concern about voters being misled by news stations like MSNBC or FOX News, which tend to politically lean one way or another.
Ricky Thrash, Kalamazoo, Mich., graduate student, said he wished color and race weren’t cited in the coverage of the election.
“I hope people don’t vote for or against Obama just because he’s black, just like I hope people don’t vote for or against McCain because he’s white,” Thrash said. “I hope people vote colorblind and focus on the issues.”
One major concern was the future of race relations, regardless of which candidate gets elected. Koga Ndikum-Moffor, president of the BSU and Overland Park senior, said racial tensions could rise because of the high pedestal on which the public has placed Obama.
“People have set their hope so high for change,” Ndikum-Moffor said. “If he doesn’t do something phenomenal, if he falls short in any way, things will go crazy.”
BSU member Robel Yemane, St. Louis senior, agreed with Ndikum-Moffor and said he was scared of what would happen if Obama was elected and people didn’t see immediate change.
“If McCain got elected, he would have to do one thing, like fix health care, in order to be considered successful,” Yemane said. “Obama will have to do a hell of a lot more than that to be considered successful.”
BSU member Danielle Cooper, Kansas City, Kan., freshman, said she felt that minorities had to work twice as hard in order to be considered on the same playing field as non-minorities.
While Barack Obama has emphasized in his speeches the time it would take for change to come, a tendency to expect instant gratification might overshadow the slow process. Though America might have to wait for changes in healthcare, the economy and education, students in BSU had already observed a shift in the candidate.
“This year, I was watching the BET Awards Show, and it was the first time I ever heard the word ‘vote’ on any of the awards shows,” Cooper said.
The increase in black voter turnout has also been a change from the 2004 election. During the presidential primaries, many states experienced an increase in black voter turnout. In Georgia, black voter turnout rose 85 percent, according to the Democratic National Committee.
— Edited by Ramsey Cox
Discussion
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Race has become an interesting issue for me. I recently moved to Chicago where I have seen numerous African Americans wearing shirts in support of Obama that read "It's our time." It has been evident to me and everyone else I have talked to about it that these shirts are meant to indicate it is the Black person's time. As a white person, how ought I react to such a comment?
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