I have always called President Barack Obama the race avoider.
Sure, he’ll shoot hoops and coo Al Green to Michelle, but the man insists on staying above it all. He’s in control, taking the high road and avoiding what he sees as the obvious. Because as we all know, life should be all about the “content of our character,” right?
Like many successful people of color, Obama believes one can overcome race by driving ahead, ignoring it and concentrating on what truly matters.
In the past, he’s only addressed the subject of race when it is forced and cannot be ignored. We saw this when Rev. Jeremiah Wright became an issue in the first Obama campaign in 2008. Then, Obama addressed his connection to the reverend with his own searing speech in Philadelphia that seemed to satisfy, at least for the moment, any need to tackle race any further.
That’s because the goal was always about moving ahead, leaving race behind. We were entering the post-racial America. That’s where everyone wants to be because the truth is no one really wants to deal with race. Not liberals, conservatives, Black, White, Asian or Latino. No one.
It’s just easier to say, “See, a Black man is president. Equality? Done.”
But then came Obama’s blunt admission last week at that news conference.
