When Obama Became Black: A look at the may media address race

All presidents must endure their fair share of criticism and scandal. Take for instance the conflicts that many individuals have used to frame two presidential predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. News correspondents still refer to Bush’s speech in front  of the “Mission Accomplished” banner as an example of poor executive decision making, and Clinton, who will forever be haunted by the phrase, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” But when looking at these types of situations and the steps presidents must take to defuse them, it becomes clear that for President Barack Obama, scandal has taken a new tone.

            In his 2008-2009 presidential race, critics from both the right and the left developed a tendency to criticize Obama not simply on his bad decisions but on his race and ethnicity. Take for instance the birth certificate scandal which developed around the idea that Obama was in fact not a citizen of the United States. These claims which were based solely on speculation, not actual proof, highlights what has developed into a trend of judging the African American President’s racial and ethnic background, not on his actions as a leader. And the most recent manifestation of this sloppy journalism has developed into an issue that is insulting not only to the President but also to the nation he leads: How black is Obama?

            Two months ago CNN’s Don Lemon reported on a speech in which the President announced a new presidential initiative designed to help educate minority youth, but this story which should be focusing on ways to improve public education in America turned into a discussion of race. Carol Costello, a news anchor for CNN commented on the story saying that during the above mentioned speech, Obama “became the black president.” And after making this statement, Costello continued saying that although the President’s plan looked like a promising venture “takes more than money and programs to solve racism.” But apparently, what Costello fails to understand is that comments like hers designed to gauge the blackness of Obama are in fact the very types of remarks that help preserve racism. Her statement, which identified the moment when Obama became black, implies that the context of someone’s race is not based on their heritage but rather in their actions, that someone can choose not to be black by not acting black. This notion of defining African Americans’ blackness based on their ability to be black strips citizens of their ability to define who they are. And as for me, I hope that my critique of this situation doesn’t make me less white.