Barack Obama may have thrown the controversial Reverend Wright under the proverbial bus, but Wright’s message still resonates in his comments. In the upcoming issue of Essence Magazine, Barack Obama was asked about race in America, and his reply seems somewhat different than what we have heard in the past:

“I don’t believe it is possible to transcend race in this country. Race is a factor in this society. The legacy of Jim Crow and slavery has not gone away. It is not an accident that African-Americans experience high crime rates, are poor, and have less wealth. It is a direct result of our racial history.”

Certainly the legacy of our nations racial division has not gone away, but does that mean it will continue to plague our nation? It is because of this lingering legacy that the House of Representatives deemed it necessary to officially apologize for the actions of our ancestors, in the process reminding African Americans of their victim status. When Obama speaks of high crime rates in the African American community being a result of our racial history, this also reminds African Americans of their victim status, with the exception that those crimes are committed by their own community.

When Obama spoke back in March on race he told Americans “But I have asserted a firm conviction — a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people — that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.”

Presumably his faith in the American people has since floundered, as he now does not foresee our country healing those racial wounds. Obama continues to see a country divided on race while denying that it is our efforts to transcend race which continue to make race a factor. Issues such as affirmative action, only enhance the racial division in our country by declaring to minorities they are somehow inferior and in need of additional assistance in order to succeed.

If we are to ever transcend race we must do so by first looking past race. Efforts should not be made to improve poverty in the African American community, nor the Hispanic community, as Americans we should all be one community. Those efforts should instead focus on improving poverty, where ever it may lie. Similarly with crime, efforts should be made to reduce crime nationwide, not specifically in communities of color.

Unlike Senator Obama, the ills of this world such as poverty, crime, and disease, are color blind. Only when we as a people disregard skin color as an issue, will we truly be able to transcend race. It appears Senator Obama is not ready to do that.

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Affirmative Action, Barack Obama, Election 2008, Features, Politics, Racism