Upon first arriving to the heat of Fire’s place, I noted the monthly countdown to the presidential election. As we get closer and closer to the big day, this white girl is hot for Romney. While there was so much hoopla over the significance of the last election, it occurs to me that this is the actual historical election.
While it is often debated whether art imitates life or life imitates art, the one precedent for predicting the outcome of the election comes from the silver screen. In 2002, Halle Berry won the first Academy Award given to an African-American woman for her role in Monster’s Ball. At that same awards ceremony, Denzel Washington, the lead in Training Day, won as Best Actor – an Oscar given to a black man only once before…to Sidney Poitier… in 1963. Since then, no black actor or actress has won such high honors again.
Much like our former election, there was a lot of talk leading up to the event, which caused me to wonder whether the awards were given to placate or based on real merit. Having seen neither of the films, I could not judge. At our last election, there was the sense that people were willing to give anything a chance in order to see true change. There was backlash amongst Republicans and conservatives against the standby, traditional views. There was the stigma for anyone who had voted for Bush, much less voted for him twice. A vote for Obama was a vote to clear one’s conscience. But, was he sworn in on pure merit or what he was symbolizing?
The true test of a president is whether he can make that second term. Personally, I don’t see another Oscar awaiting Obama. More than any policy or ideal, this race is now, really and truly, a race race. White guilt, white belief in our country’s ideals of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps gave Obama a chance. The mistake his followers have made is in thinking that chance would last more than four years: in thinking that his attainment of that office indicated a succession of black presidencies, not that this was a chance that might not come around again for another forty years.
The result of this election will truly set the course of our nation’s future. If Obama wins, I will believe everything Firepower writes about the direction our country is heading. If Romney wins, I believe it can be staved off. Voting for Romney sends the following message: “We let you into our highest office. You cannot ever say you didn’t have your chance. But now we are taking back our rightful place in charge of this country.”
Four years ago, Obama accomplished an incredible thing. He was in an enviable position and became an emblem of achievement for blacks. As he now prepares to potentially exit the White House, who would step into his shoes? Will he be the only black president? Will his presidency be what keeps any other black from becoming president? Much like a bad romance, what started with great promise did not deliver. The writing was bad. The acting was not believable. One wonders if this is the end for black leading men; if they have been given their token due and will now be relegated to only supporting roles.
http://www.myspace.com/whats-hot/2012/2/23/a-history-of-african-americans-and-the-oscars
Related articles
- Black scholar: African Americans worse off under Obama (tarpon.wordpress.com)
- Why black Americans should vote for Romney (utsandiego.com)
- Closing the Racial Voting Gap (theroot.com)
- Who will abandon Obama and Romney on Election Day? (washingtonpost.com)
- Obama’s White Voter Gap (personalliberty.com)
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