More than a year after the election of the nation’s first African American president, a panel of University of Wisconsin professors analyzed the amount of economic and political progress made by minorities under President Barack Obama’s administration and debated the future state of race relations Wednesday.
While the election of Obama was a physical representation of the change in racial perception in the United States, race relations have not yet altered greatly since then, said Will Jones, associate history professor.
Her Vang, an ethnic studies visiting instructor, said while Obama has shown minority groups now possess the ability to attain power and recognition within society, it is impossible for one person in one year to eradicate racism in America completely.
“There is still a long way to go to erase racism because many minorities still have the stigma of inferiority attached to them,” Vang said.
Although Obama did not change race relations in a year, a feat most panelists acknowledged would be nearly impossible, he has inspired people to reach out to people of dissimilar backgrounds, associate political science professor Kathy Cramer Walsh said.
Tracy Curtis, an assistant Afro-American studies professor, said Obama has also granted black parents the opportunity to show their children a recognizable example proving achieving their greatest dreams is a real possibility.
The panel members also commented on how Obama’s political strategies and the recent decline in approval ratings are essentially dictated by race.
The gap between black and white income levels is increasing because the current stimulus package offers many jobs in industries that are inherently discriminatory, so black unemployment rates are soaring, Jones said.
Jones added to avoid being classified as anti-white, the president has produced a pragmatic, universal economic program that rallies people of all races and is much more effective than race specific policies.
While the president’s decline in approval ratings is partially tied to these economic problems, racism also has a serious effect on the way many people view Obama, Jones said.
As seen through a historical trend, presidential popularity always declines steadily within the first year of the administration, yet the media and those who oppose Obama refuse to recognize this tendency, Walsh said.
“By not acknowledging a political pattern, it is an attack on him personally,” Walsh said.
She added singling him out and refusing to place him within historical context magnifies the underlying racial tones surrounding his administration and the inability to move completely past his outer appearance.
“Taking Stock of Race and Racism: A Year after Obama’s Inauguration” was supported by funds from the UW College of Letters and Sciences and was sponsored by UW Center for Humanities.
The Center for Humanities aimed to foster a discussion about current national and local racial concerns and potential solutions to these problems by allowing Madison residents to debate global issues with UW faculty.
