Obama's Silence on Race

Courtland Milloy criticized President Obama strongly last month for his silence on the issue of race in America.  “There has never been a good reason why the nation’s first black president had to be so reticent about race — having uttered fewer words on the subject during his first two years in office than any Democratic president since 1961, according to a study by Daniel Gillion at the University of Pennsylvania,” Milloy wrote in his Washington Post column.

I think I understand why Obama has had so little to say about race.  I think his reticence reflects a preference for doing things that help black Americans over saying things about the state of race in America.  And, I think, his silence results from his understanding that the more he talks about race, the less he can get done.

 By almost any measure, Obama has done more to help black Americans than any president since Lyndon Johnson.  Simon van Zuylen-Wood’s excellent article in this month’s Washington Monthly details the impact of the stimulus, Obamacare, the rescue of the auto industry, Race to the Top and Obama’s other education programs, his Promise Neighborhoods program, and more, on the well-being of black people across the nation.

But every time he talks about race, Obama ends up dealing with a furor that distracts him from his political agenda for weeks.  Think of the aftermath of his casual statement about the Cambridge, MA police officer who arrested Skip Gates; Obama spent far more time managing the controversy than the incident deserved.  That’s time he could not spend working on education, jobs, health care, or any of the other issues that matter to black Americans.

So here are the questions:

1. Would you like to hear President Obama talk more about race?  If so, what would you like him to say?
2. Do you think more talk about race from Obama would detract from progress on substantive issues of critical concern to black Americans?

Thanks.

 

 

Comments

[Courtland]

Well, well...Hal J Logan in the house. Welcome back. I recall you mentioning a black woman from Virginia who, when asked if she wanted Obama to say anything about race around the time of his second inaugural, replied: No. She was speaking for a whole lot of folks, as it turned out. So, while I think about your question, Mr HJL, let me tell you what a lot of black folks do want to talk about, based on the most popular of those black oriented Web sites: Beyonce butt knocking out the Superdome lights; Serena Williams butt being too big for her to find love; Michelle Obama butt being too big to fit in the White House. "Oh Court," you say, "Those are bottom feeder Web sites that dont cater to edumacated black people like us." Except that those "stories" have all been on the "Root" in the past 48 hours. And the edumacated readers are eating it up!!

[Etienne]

Just not sure Obama’s talking more about race leads to the systemic change still needed even as his talking about it sends an unmistakable signal of its significance. Talking about race strikes me as a pre-21st Century tactic. As president his more powerful weapons lie in the policies he might enact to address racial injustice. He’s taken a few positive steps to improve access to education and stimulate employment, but hasn’t done nearly enough to address current drug policies that are the gateway to disenfranchisement for black and brown men, poverty, and social immobility.

[Gabrielle]

I agree with Etienne. Talking more about race won't lead to any systematic change that we still need, but I think the problem is he seems to avoid any mention or conversation about race. Being the first black President makes this topic a big deal and avoiding it to not come off as a race-centered Presidency doesn't make it go away. So although he doesn't need to mention his race or talk about race every time he speaks, I think its important to acknowledge it, just as his critics bring up his race every chance they get.