During Barack Obama's presidency, I remember a lot of minority groups coming together under his time. In the article "Barack Obama as the post-racial candidate for a post-racial America: perspectives from Asian America and Hawai'i", Asian-Americans believed that his election and presidency would lead to the end of racism. Although Barack Obama was an African-American, he also claimed that he was from Hawaii and that he was a member of the Asian American Pacific Islander Community. It is evident to see that although an African-American was elected into office, the roots of racism is very deep in history. It is impossible for one president to change the country's foundation and roots. When he stated his origins from Hawaii, many white people invalidated his statement, saying that he lied. Even when he had proven this fact with his birth certificate and everything, people who were angry about his presidency spread rumors that it was still false.
This reminds me much about Trump's election. Although Trump said he would be building a wall using Mexico's money and Mexico declined such statements, many citizens still believed in him because he was a white conservative male. Racism is still prevalent in politics today & minorities still have to fight hard for equal representation. Although Obama's presidency did not end racism, it is definitely a step in the right path.
Question: How many steps will it take for racism to end in politics? How can we fight against a system that is so ingrained with racism?
References
Okamura, Jonathan Y. Barack Obama as the post-racial candidate for a post-racial America: perspectives from Asian America and Hawai'i. Routledge. 2016.
Sperry, Paul, and Paul Sperry. “How Obama Is Scheming to Sabotage Trump's Presidency.” New
York Post, New York Post, 13 Feb. 2017, nypost.com/2017/02/11/how-obama-is-scheming-to-sabotage-trumps-presidency/.
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