Is it all done and dusted then? Are we all now happily post-racial? No more worries about the colour of our skin, race or religion? Euphoria can’t get better than what followed Barack Obama’s election as America’s first African-American President. The eruption of joy, hope and optimism that it triggered befits a truly historic event. But what next?
Now that America has finally broken through the race barrier, the question being asked is: What does Mr. Obama’s election mean for identity politics in other white nations? Will Europe, for instance, be inspired to “do an Obama?” Can we hope to see a non-white European head of state or Prime Minister anytime soon? Is there a possibility of a British Asian or African taking up residence in Downing Street in our lifetime?
Once this might have seemed an academic question. After all, even in America, until it actually happened, few Americans seriously believed they would ever see a non-white President and, indeed, the Obama team itself had kept its fingers crossed until the last moment.
Now that America has finally broken through the race barrier, the question being asked is: What does Mr. Obama’s election mean for identity politics in other white nations? Will Europe, for instance, be inspired to “do an Obama?” Can we hope to see a non-white European head of state or Prime Minister anytime soon? Is there a possibility of a British Asian or African taking up residence in Downing Street in our lifetime?
Once this might have seemed an academic question. After all, even in America, until it actually happened, few Americans seriously believed they would ever see a non-white President and, indeed, the Obama team itself had kept its fingers crossed until the last moment.
But the Obama win has changed all that. Now that the door has been kicked open, there is suddenly a sense that if it can happen in America it can happen anywhere. It was dubbed America’s “Rubicon moment” when, in a remarkable show of unity, the nation came together to bury the ghost of its bitter racist past and embark on a new beginning.
SOURCE:THE HINDU
