Hooray!!! Black President!!! Except, hold on just a sec...

With this year's election of Illinois Senator Barack Hussein Obama to the presidency of the United States of America, blacks, everywhere in the country, celebrated. Blacks sang in choirs in church at special Tuesday night services, and gathered in bars and parks, and held parties at their homes in recognition of this truly great achievement.

The common sentiment was that "we did it!" and that we had "finally made it!" To a large degree, this is true. If not for Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, Marcus Garvey, Shirley Chisholm, the thousands of black men and boys lynched, and countless, nameless others (like my deceased Harlem community activist father) who endured suffering, hardship and death, we may not have been at a point where a black man could even run for local office, let alone win the nation's presidency. Our parents and grandparents represent a second application for the term "Greatest Generation", and Obama owes much of his success in this country to them.

But for the younger generation of blacks, I would say, those of us below age 45, I don't know if that sentiment of "we have overcome!" is fully accurate: Barack Obama is extolled for his graduation of Columbia and Harvard universities, but this is in a time when increasingly less high-minded blacks, who have more public influence, have decided that education and hard work hold no merit, and that the way to be successful is to parade half and fully naked black women across national television screens and shout profanities. As well, Barack Obama's ties to the black community as a whole are, ultimately, thin. His mother was white, his stepfather was Filipino, and he was eventually raised by his white grandmother. The one tie he has to "blackness" is his father, who left him at age two, and whom he only saw once more in his life, at age 10. And though "black", his father was African, and therefore not a part of the "American black experience".

Now, I don't say this to make the argument that Barack Obama is "not black enough" to be considered black, or anything as ridiculous or as simplistic as that. Being of African descent (and having said features) is enough to make one black - no matter the particulars of how you grew up. I heard that same argument about him in the primaries and I felt (and still feel) that it was a ridiculous and superficial argument - in the way it was presented. It could have been made properly, but the mainstream media, with our own help as blacks, as usual, failed to delve deeper into the potentials of that argument. Instead it devolved and was reduced to conversations of "Does Barack Obama listen to Hip-Hop?" and "Will he support Welfare?" My point here - about Obama's lineage - is only to say that, though this is a major step forward for black Americans, and a "victory" even, that the enthusiasm should be tempered somewhat. And here's why:

The election of Barack Obama will doubtless lead all whites and many blacks to the conclusion that since we now have a black US president, any black person can do anything they want in life, and there are no more excuses and "The Man" can no longer be blamed. This is a tricky area, because though I believed that even before Barack Obama ever even ran for president, there are exceptions and loopholes, and those will now be dismissed more routinely than in the past, setting up a new way for discrimination to rear its ugly head.

When John McCain started running ads claiming that, now President-Elect, Obama was merely a celebrity without substance, many (myself included) thought it was something of a reach. Certainly, Obama has reached a celebrity status, for a politician, not seen in this country since the Kennedys. But many were convinced that Obama was substantive as well, even if he wasn't always able to fully communicate that substance. And that inability of Obama to communicate his ideas clearly to the American people, was largely our fault - for having short attention spans and disinterest in true knowledge. Indeed, Obama was lambasted for being "too professorial". It was often argued (not in so many words) that he needed to dumb-down his communications to reach people more effectively.

But McCain, with his celebrity comment, was onto something in a way that no one realized: that celebrity, that Obama had acquired, was a large part of the reason that he could win a primary, let alone be elected president. That celebrity, allowed Barack Obama to surmount hurdles that ordinary black people, in everyday life, cannot surmount.

When I worked in New York City in TV and TV commercial production, I worked hard toward being a crew member. I started out as a production assistant, but I wanted to be a Grip and / or Set Lighting Technician. In my pursuits, I ran into many very helpful white people who wanted to give me a chance - I ran into more who didn't. Of the ones who did want to help me reach my short term goal, many had their hands tied - they were union, I was non-union and hadn't worked enough to be considered for the union. They couldn't get me onto union jobs, and often times, they were helping others as well, so when they worked non-union, they couldn't always call me because they were calling others also. So, sometimes I worked, and sometimes I didn't. I could accept that. That is procedural and bureaucratic and annoying, but it is understandable, and with time and persistence, can be worked around or overcome. However, in many cases, I was refused work simply because I was black. Of course, no one will believe that. "Not in New York." "Not in the liberal film / entertainment industry." Or, worse, "It wasn't race, you just weren't good enough."

Well, that would be fine, except, I had conversations with two people in which they implicitly stated (not explicitly, because that would create proof of the illegality of their actions) that they would never hire me, simply because they didn't like blacks. I know that sounds unbelievable to any non-black person reading this post, but blacks everywhere suffer this type of treatment on a daily basis, and whites who dismiss it do so because they can't in any way imagine that world still exists. But it does, and if you are black, but not a celebrity, you may (and likely will) still get denied a loan, a home, a credit card, a job, or anything else you seek over the next eight years (that's right, I said eight years). But now, there will be even less sympathy for you than before. Because "you have a black president."

So, Barack Obama's success at reaching the US presidency is due (in part) to the fact that his acquired celebrity status transcended his race. The same was true of O.J. Simpson (before his downfall), Michael Jackson (before his insanity), Michael Jordan, Seal, and any number of other black celebrities whose race was transcended because of their talent and abilities, which brings me to my next point: Barack Obama is talented and able, has great ideas, is inspirational, and may prove to be a very effective president. Absolutely, without a doubt, this was the large-scale reason why he was elected. But the fact cannot be denied, that for the black man who pursues becoming a union carpenter, things may not get any easier.

Another thing is important to note: Though Barack Obama personally decided to not overtly play on white guilt, he had to know it was in effect. Jesse Jackson types, who openly played on white guilt in the past - to the point of being accusatory - failed in their bids for higher office, because no one wants to be constantly reminded of a past mistake. Obama's genius was in "forgiving" white people, and allowing for them to feel whatever shame or guilt they harbored privately, instead of throwing it at them in fiery speeches. Obama didn't play on white guilt, and by not doing so, ironically, that guilt helped him be elected.

Only (thus far) in America, could a black man be the "ruler" of a majority Caucasian nation. Also, only by being an American president, could a black man become the de facto leader of the world. For that, we should all be thankful; that we live in a western nation, if not THE western nation that allows for the correction of its past mistakes. But let us not lose sight of what is important in everyday life. What has happened is a milestone, but President Obama won't get anyone hired on their next job. Only their hard work and perseverance, coupled with the nation's own recognition of its past and continuing injustices, and a little luck, will do that.

Whites: Recognize that one, quite major, black success does not make all past and current injustices void. Do not dismiss your darker countryman when he beseeches your help.

Blacks: While not forgetting, do not cling to slavery and the lynchings and cross-burnings. To remember is to honor. To cling, is to enslave and lynch the mind. Remember, but press forward.

End Note: John McCain returned to the John McCain of old last night, when he delivered a heartfelt and sincere speech of concession of the election. This is the John McCain I missed during the election and earlier, in the later stages of the primaries. I hope that he will continue his distinguished service in the United States Senate in the manner of his pre-election self. That was when he was a true maverick.