Hope and Healing: Part 4 -- Personal Reflections

I didn’t live through the racial tensions of the 1960’s. Unlike my 75-year old father, I was never arrested for sitting in front of a “White’s Only” divider on a bus, nor did I witness a friend beaten to near death for being in the wrong neighborhood. But I can recall several profound instances in which my “blackness”, my scarlet letter, was psychologically suffocating.

Once, during an exit interview as I was leaving for graduate school, the director of personnel for the Fortune 100 company that I worked for couldn’t bring himself to extend a counteroffer to me. “You have to understand how difficult it is for a white man of my generation to come crawling to you like this,” he finally said, agitated. I was stunned and speechless. I left his office – and the company – feeling humiliated, marginalized and, somehow, ashamed of who I was. I’ve often wondered if that was his intent.

On another occasion, my graduate school classmates – primarily white, but a few minorities, many of them my friends – chose, as part of an annual Variety Show, to sing and dance to their own original lyrics:

“I want to be a minority

So companies can come looking for me

All in the name of equality”

I recall walking out of the auditorium, again feeling hurt and humiliated, wondering if that was secretly in my white classmates’ minds whenever a black person was extended a job offer. “You go, Affirmative Action Girl!” I imagined them saying. This time I was not marginalized but angry and outraged. Humor and Freedom of Speech, my classmates and the University defended. Divisive and insulting, I replied. In retrospect, both perspectives were right.

My skin has gotten thicker over time. I often wonder, though, if someone like me -- educated, solidly middle class, having been accepted into some of the leading institutions in the country -- could struggle with feelings of inadequacy and marginalization, how must others who are less fortunate, indeed less included, feel everyday?

It's hard to describe how I felt when Barack Obama was declared the next President. I recall being so moved when I saw the tears stream down Jesse Jackson’s face. I felt happy and relieved and, oddly, exonerated. I was no longer "guilty" of being black. My humanity, my equality had been validated. Perhaps one of my Facebook Friends said it best when he posted his post-election status as “ecstatic that when he tells his daughters that in America, with hard work they can be anything they want to be, he is finally telling the truth.”

Next Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. And I wonder, when the ceremony ends, the crowd leaves and the barricades are removed, where do we go from here?

Hope and Healing: Part 3 -- World View

The world has looked at this year’s U.S. Presidential election, understood its historical significance and joined Americans in celebrating the outcome: a victory over a history of hatred, prejudice and bigotry. One simply needs to read the headlines.

In the Associated Press Article, Obama victory sparks cheers around the globe, John Leicester reports,

"Barack Obama's election as America's first black president unleashed a renewed love for the United States after years of dwindling goodwill, and many said Wednesday that U.S. voters had blazed a trail that minorities elsewhere could follow."

And there’s evidence that we have set that example. In another Associated Press article, Inspired by Obama, European minorities take action:

“In France, a pro-Barack Obama grassroots group created months ago is morphing into a campaign for political diversity. In Britain, a black voter group says it is inundated with calls and attendance is soaring. In Austria, a Rwandan-born activist has fired off letters to big parties urging them to field minority candidates. And in Germany, the staff of Turkish politician Cem Ozdemir started a Facebook group called "Yes we Cem" — a takeoff on Obama's slogan "Yes we can."

America leading the world on race relations? In the words of my father when he spoke of this year’s election results, “I never thought I’d see the day….”.

Of course, all has not been positive. One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. And yet another source quoted a headline on the Web site of the National Democratic Party of Germany, a political party that sympathizes with neo-Nazi groups reading “Africa Conquers the White House”. The source goes on to report that in an accompanying article, Jorgen Gansel, a party leader and an elected lawmaker in the German state of Saxony, blamed Obama's victory on ‘the American alliance of Jews and Negroes.’" The Associated Press also reports that Klaus Emmerich, a veteran commentator for Austrian state broadcaster ORF, set off a firestorm of criticism after Obama's election by saying publicly he doesn't think the president-elect is "civilized enough.” What brings hope to some ignites hatred and fear in others.

Far more of the world has been inspired, however, by the global victory President-Elect Obama represents. An AP article quotes a 29-year old Thai sitting at a Starbuck's in Bangkok as saying,

"What an inspiration. he is the first truly global U.S. president the world has ever had. he had an Asian childhood, African parentage and has a Middle Eastern name. He is truly a global president."

Clearly America hasn’t instantaneously become a level playing field. Prejudice still exists, and the stereotypes of being lazy and entitled that have been cast on African Americans haven’t suddenly been lifted. Moreover, significant racial disparities remain in income, wealth and quality of education. But we can now have hope – in fact, we have an example -- that those negative factors can be overcome to achieve even the highest levels of success, if we dare to believe in our own possibilities. America belongs to all of us, and we all have an equal stake in its greatness. We can choose to lift ourselves up, and ride this tide, or we can hang onto the pain of the past which has tarnished our psyche. The world is once again looking to us to set an example of how to move forward.

Hope and Healing: Part 2 - - From Enslaved to Entitled

President-Elect Barack Obama said he intends to go through the budget “line by line” and look at every expenditure and program. I would hope that our 44th President takes on this task with an eye toward fixing some fundamentals: equal access to quality education; employment that pays a living wage; and affordable housing. Addressing these fundamental issues is critical to making opportunity in America truly equal for all. Most people would not choose poverty; but absent quality education, marketable skills and employment, what’s the alternative?

But, before we go there, indulge me for a minute as I take a step back to give a bit more context on psychological healing….

What is it like to be born with the scarlet letter “N” branded onto your psyche? To be born with the historical constitutional stigma of being three-fifths of a person? What is it like to bear that legacy for over 200 years, in a country that preaches “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”, but largely practices “separate but not equal”?

And what is it like to finally rise up from beneath the weight of that legacy, to defy and discard it, and have one of you become President of the United States of America? What happens to the psyche of that 60% person, that citizen-of-sorts? What are the possibilities of affording yourself equal opportunities because, finally, you believe Yes, You Can?

I vividly recall being in my 3-year-old’s playgroup the day after the election, silently elated over President-Elect Obama’s victory, when Teddi walked in. She was elated as well, and she was not silent about it (nor is she black). It was a shared victory for Teddi and I. That victory was a signal that our democracy is finally becoming racially color blind. And I experienced a profound sense of hope and healing with the election of a President of the United States who is black. Not only did I feel proud to be an American, I felt like I was an American, whole and complete….

And now, feeling complete, let’s turn to the truly hard work: How do we address the structural challenges that contribute to cycles of poverty in our communities? Given that 37.3 million people in the US live in poverty, including 24.5% of African Americans, it will be interesting to see how and if President-Elect Obama addresses the issue.

I hope that President-Elect Obama will critically look at “entitlement programs” intended to provide assistance to the poor. I hope he modifies or eliminates those programs that are ineffective, replacing them with more forward-looking solutions. He is uniquely positioned to do so. As a youth, he was a benefactor of such programs. Moreover, he understands the psychological scars and the sociological challenges facing African Americans, a group heavily represented on the rolls.

Entitlement programs and other government assistance programs created a mindset of dependence and, well, entitlement, which we then scorned. We gave a man a fish, neither taught him how to fish for himself nor provided the tools that would enable self-sufficiency, then turned our noses up and called him "lazy".

The idea of public housing, for example, has merit. Unfortunately, in many cases it has created dens of poverty, crime and substandard living conditions that no one should endure. Ironically, I’ve seen individuals for whom the combination of familiarity and affordability was such a powerful draw that they chose to reside in public housing “where they lived their whole life”, even when offered a better option. And then there are people who simply have nowhere else to go. One need only look at the situation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where evacuees returned to boarded up housing projects even without basics such as electricity.

I admittedly am no expert on welfare programs, but for some welfare also created a mentality of dependence. Don't get me wrong. There are times when government assistance is not only helpful but necessary. After Hurricane Katrina, many members of my family found themselves homeless and jobless, local bank accounts frozen, with nothing but the clothes which they had worn when they evacuated. Some stood humbly in food stamp lines until they were able to get back on their feet and support themselves. But they got back on their feet.

The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act signed by Bill Clinton is credited for "ending welfare". However, critics assail that it shifted families from welfare rolls to minimum wage jobs and did little to address poverty. We need a solution that does both.

With regard to education, it's no secret that school systems in low-income neighborhoods, many predominantly minority, are generally not the highest performing. According to the Gates Foundation, graduation rates for African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students hover just above 50 percent (compared to a 70 percent overall US graduation rate). As Professor Michael Eric Dyson says, “If the rigidly segregated educational system continues to miserably fail poor blacks by failing to prepare their children for the world of work, then admonitions to ‘stay in school’ may ring hollow.”

So here are a few “borrowed” ideas to kick around: Let’s phase out public housing as it exists today and replace it with mixed income communities. Peer pressure is a powerful motivator to raise your game, even for adults, as is exposure outside of your natural environment or comfort zone. Let’s look to programs such as the Gates model for creating schools that actually motivate students to learn – not more schools, just better results. Let’s scale the work of organizations such as Habitat for Humanity to move families from public housing to homeownership. (Habitat builds affordable houses with volunteer labor and sweat equity. The organization identifies families, many of whom reside in public housing, and provides them with 0-interest financing to purchase a home.)

Let’s identify and retool individuals who are structurally or otherwise unemployed and prepare them for higher paying jobs, jobs of the future, “green” jobs perhaps. Let’s stop assuming that people are poor because they are lazy, or, even worse, stop ignoring them all together. Most importantly, let’s capitalize on the psychological “high”, the “Yes We Can” spirit, brought by this election.

I believe the entitlement challenge is three-fold: structural, psychological and behavioral. The result of this election addressed the psychological barrier. Now let’s provide the structural resources that are necessary for individuals to break their cycle of poverty, namely, access to the quality education and training required to secure employment and earn a living wage. Finally, let’s model and make clear the behaviors required to become and remain self-sufficient as well as the near- and long-term rewards of doing so.

Many people will say that this is not the work of the government. Perhaps they're right, but I believe that government has a role. It’s a daunting task, no doubt, but one that is as critical as fixing our capital markets. (By the way, we also said that was not the work of the government.) If the government can spend $700 billion to address the needs of Wall Street albeit to protect Main Street, then it should also address the needs of the poor and the underprivileged.

In memory of Dr. Peter Daingerfield, whose life mission was to "teach a man to fish".

Hope and Healing: Part 1-- Historically Speaking

Barack Obama was elected President of the United States with 53% of the popular vote, the highest margin in 20 years, and the second highest since Reagan defeated Mondale in 1984. Obama won 94% of African American votes and 66% of Latino votes. 43% of white voters cast their ballot for Obama, a higher percentage than either Al Gore or John Kerry attained. It was a shared victory, an American victory – undeniably a “blue” victory. In the face of economic, environmental, military and healthcare crises, Americans were voting for change. The Red party was out, and the Blue party in.

The encouraging thing to me is that the majority of Americans were able to see Senator Obama as a qualified candidate whose views (presumably) were consistent with their own. He wasn’t elected to be the first black President of the United States; he was selected as the most qualified candidate, a candidate able to gain support across age, race and gender lines. While I admittedly struggle with the views of the “right”, some of whom are my friends, I am encouraged that they did not feel compelled to become a part of history by electing a “minority”. Thus, counter to the ranting of Rudy Giuliani at the Republican National Convention, Barack Obama is not an “affirmative action” President.

Nonetheless, I’d like to address the “big white elephant in the middle of the room”. America elected a black President! There, I said it. But what does that mean? And why should it matter? While I can’t answer those questions definitively for all Americans, or even for all black Americans, I’d like to try to give it some context beginning with this first entry in a four-part series on Hope and Healing.

The most significant outcome of the election, I believe, is its psychological impact. I say this because slavery deeply wounded all Americans, perhaps not physically but certainly psychologically. We saw ourselves and one another as though looking through distorted lenses, much like looking in a mirror in the old Fun House. Jim Crow and its legislative annihilation of African Americans' civil liberties further warped the images.

While the Civil Rights Act restored these liberties and, in doing so, removed many of the remaining shackles held over from slavery, the psychological barriers remained. Legislation, after all, can force doors to open that would otherwise remain closed, but it would take at least another generation for minds and hearts to open as well. Today, 145 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and nearly 44 years after the signing of the Civil Rights Act, America is finally living up to Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of being “free at last”.

I believe we are in a unique window in history. We are at a place of hope and healing. President-elect Obama’s victory gives us hope, tangible evidence in fact, that the collective consciousness of the majority of Americans is united in its belief in one nation. I believe that, as he struggled to come to peace with his own mixed heritage, Barack Obama was open to the possibility of one America, the inclusive America that he embodied. In making that possibility a reality for himself, he set an example that we can all follow. And while the rage that was Jeremiah Wright (and, perhaps understandably, so many of his contemporaries) may or may not have subsided, while bigotry and hatred continue to fester in dark corners of America, it is clear that this election has brought irrevocable psychological effects: a sense of elation…a sense of relief… a sense of inclusion...a sense that we are turning a corner on race relations in the US…a sense of optimism about America’s future….a sense of hope for the future that only comes with healing the collective wounds of the past.

This blog is dedicated to Coach A, who gave me the courage to see, feel and believe in my own possibilities.

Say it isn't so, Sarah

Sarah Palin exceeded everyone's expectations in her debate performance. She was, for the most part, reasonably articulate, capable of matching the right talking points to the right questions, poised and, by the end of the debate, confident. Moreover, in her winky, folksy, ya'll drawl, I'm convinced that she reassured those who want to believe in her that she is capable of not humiliating herself (and the rest of Americans!), given adequate time, powerful resources and strenuous preparation.

But has the bar for vice presidential candidates really been set so low that success is defined as "he/she didn't embarass us"? Moreover, is Sarah Palin's greatest feminist aspiration in life to prove that women -- working class mothers -- can be sufficiently mediocre as to pass the litmus test of "See, I can sound smart if I practice"? Has she drank so much of her own moose-flavored Kool Aid that she honestly believes 72 hours of cramming to avoid past confusion and misstatements can alleviate the need for thoughtful understanding and analysis of domestic and foreign policy issues? And does she have so little to offer that the best she can do for McCain is to portray an exaggerated caricature of a working class American, complete with scripted winks, ya'lls and "say-it-ain't-so-joe's"? Say it isn't so, Sarah.

Joe Biden, in contrast, was on his game. He was a skilled, effective debater. He was on point, on message, just "on". He was respectful, but in no way deferential to Gov Palin. He challenged her appropriately when she attempted to misstate his running mate's tax policy. He reiterated and reinforced Senator Obama's message on sitting down with Iran with or without preconditions -- backed by, in Senator Biden's words, "5 Secretary's of State, 3 of whom were Republicans as well as Henry Kissinger". And he assailed Senator McCain, repeatedly, using specific examples of McCain's voting record on the budget, the war in Iraq, health care reform, as well as McCains's reference to the "success" in Afghanistan.

Sebator Biden held his ground as a working class, single parent, with roots in middle class America, as a man who overcame immeasurable obstacles when, after being elected to the Senate, he lost his wife and daughter in a car accident and commuted between DC and Delaware to care for his 2 sons, both in critical condition. He asserted himself as an actionable leader on the forefront of foreign policy issues. He never used the word "world view" (Gov Palin managed to slip in the buzzword), but he clearly articulated his world view citing his record on intervention in Bosnia and (proposed) in Darfur, his condemnation of ill-conceived "preemptive" military action in Iraq and incomplete action in Lebanon, the latter which has served to dangerously strengthen Hamas and Hezbollah in the Middle East. More importantly, he was a real person, a bit slick perhaps, but certainly authentic and believable.

Did Sarah Palin redeem herself from an inarticulate and underinformed week of "what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the—it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy...."? Yes, she absolutely did. Did she reenergize her Republican base? I'm sure, after a week of waiting to exhale, Republicans are relieved. Did she successfully dispel the idea that she lacks the experience to be Vice President - much less President, should fate require it -- of a world super power? Woefully, no, she did not.

Did Joe Biden bond with working class Americans, including Independent voters? Quite frankly, I'm not sure; only time will tell. Did he effectively use his record, his 35 years of leadership in the Senate -- 26 of those served alongside John McCain -- to discredit John McCain and his attempt to reinvent himself as a "maverick"? Yes, he did. Did he give Independent and undecided voters fact-based cause to conisder McCain the candidate most likely to continue down the "road going nowhere" on economic policy, on the war in Iraq, and on the threats of nuclear proliferation? I believe -- and polling and focus groups held immediately after the debate suggest that -- he absolutely did.

Way to go, Joe.

With "Pit Bull" Palin, the Stakes are Raised

I am a woman. I am a middle-class, working mother with three young children. I am Catholic. And I am not a part of the "Washington elite". Governor Sarah Palin in no way connected with me.

Gov Palin is a social conservative. With regard to abortion, Gov Palin believes in "NO Choice" in any situation, including rape or incest; her position stems from her religious beliefs. Gov. Palin's policy on contraception, and more importantly, on sex education is "Abstinence only", in spite of the rising teenage pregnancy and teenage AIDS rates. Again, her position is based on her religious beliefs. Although she lives "near Russia", Gov Palin has no foreign policy experience. Moreover, Gov Palin is, in her own words, a "Pit Bull with lipstick". And I haven't seen many Pit Bulls that are able to achieve results using the compromise, diplomacy or inclusion necessary to resolve our economic and other domestic and foreign policy challenges.

I won't harp on Gov Palin's NRA membership, the alleged firing of a cabinet member because he wouldn't fire her ex brother-in-law -- and the pending "shotgun" nuptials of her teenage daughter (although the latter does speak to the ineffectiveness of "abstinence only" policies). But I will say that you cannot flaunt your family in the public eye as an asset to your candidacy, and then cry "no fair" when questions arise as to whether that asset may likewise be a liability. It's hypocritical.

Senator McCain and Gov Palin speak of "change" and "family values", and I believe they honestly intend to focus on reform. Unfortunately, it's the most socially conservative approach to reform. Moreover, "Pit Bull Palin" does not strike me as open-minded or tolerant, two attributes which I believe are essential to effective leadership.

Though not surprising, it's also interesting to me that the McCain campaign has effectively ceded the black vote. Thursday's Washington Post, In a More Diverse America, A Mostly White Convention, reads:

"The good news, Republicans said, is that they think Sen. John McCain can still win this election with the kind of demographics on display in St. Paul. In an interview with Washington Post reporters and editors Tuesday morning, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis outlined a strategy in which his candidate targets women and white working-class voters and essentially cedes the black vote."

Strategically smart, perhaps, but symbolically dismissive. John McCain and the Republican Party have written African Americans off.

I have tremendous respect for John McCain, but I believe he has proven that he is out of touch with average Americans. As for the "maverick" illusion, does a maverick cave to the pressure of his party's conservative base and select a running mate who is unknown and the least experienced contender but who is...yes, ultra-conservative? Doubtful at best.

Senator McCain's acceptance speech was the best of who he is; it was open and pragmatic and felt authentic. Unfortunately, it was not consistent with the way he has run his campaign. He has yielded to his Party's pressure and run a campaign that is negative, distracting, and non-substantive. And I have to wonder if he would run the country in the same way, again yielding to the pressure of the Party he claims he does not serve.

Gov Palin, the "maverick's" running mate, cannot effectively lead with the diplomacy required to tackle complex domestic and foreign policy challenges, critical challenges with which she has no experience. And it is not in her self-described Pit Bull-like genetics to develop those skills over time. Gov Palin strikes me as a "my-will-be-done" candidate, not an inclusive change agent as she would have us believe. Like George W, she stands behind her righteousness as the reason for her divisive policies and "Pit Bull" tactics.

There is much at stake in this election, and the selection of Gov Palin has significantly raised those stakes. I can only hope those of us who believe that it is wrong to legislate religious and moral beliefs, such as those on abortion, who understand that an "abstinence only" policy is ineffective and dangerous to the lives of our children, and who have seen how the NRA's lobbying has resulted in watered-down gun control policies to the detriment of urban communities, as well as small towns, will mobilize. What's at stake is our future -- our ability to fix the issues of economic downturn and disparity, to reestablish America's integrity internationally, to engage in activities that truly bolster our national security, and to protect the rights of, as well as to ensure prosperity and justice for, all Americans.

After all, eight is enough, isn't it?