Jonathan Y. Okamura's article "Barack Obama as the post-racial candidate for a post-racial America: perspectives from Asian America and Hawai'i" discusses the mentality that was present during and after Barack Obama's presidential run in 2008. I was still in elementary school during the 2008 presidential election. However, I still remember the things that were being said about the candidates, especially Barack Obama, as one of the top contenders. Despite Obama avoiding the topic of race during his campaign, there were many comments made by the media and the public about his race and how his presidency would influence American society. Due to his mixed background and upbringing outside of the continental states, many stated that his victory would "end racism". By electing Obama, it would theoretically show that the general Americans do not care about his race, thus elected him based on his campaign. However, this argument is extremely flawed as it shows the color blindness as discussed in the journal article. Color blindness erases the history and struggles minority groups faced in American history. It also erases their whole culture and traditions. In this mentality, white Americans would still have the advantage by not letting those who have been disenfranchised their whole life without a chance to catch up.
Question: Do you think this mentality would continue if a candidate of mixed race would win again in the next presidential election or would people have learned from Obama's candidacy?
References
[Photograph of then U.S. Senator Barack Obama speaking at Change We Need Presidential] Retrieved from https://www.123rf.com/photo_20803713_us-senator-barack-obama-speaking-at-change-we-need-presidential-rally-october-30-2008-at-verizon-wir.html
Okamura, J. Y. (2011). Barack Obama as the post-racial candidate for a post-racial America: Perspectives from Asian America and Hawai‘i.
Patterns of Prejudice,
45(1-2), 133-153. doi:10.1080/0031322x.2011.563159
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