I found an article through Yahoo News that brings multiple sources together to weigh in on the role of race in the up coming presidential election. Sources range from Paul Herrnson, director of the Centre for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland, Gary Weaver, an American University professor and a Stanford University Survey.
According to a recent Stanford University poll, Obama could lose six points on Election Day due to his color, which is a troublingly high price to pay for prejudice.
The article brought up the following statistics: African Americans are statistically over-represented among U.S. poor. In U.S. prisons, there are six times more black people than white people. One African American man in 15 is behind bars. “However only a very small minority of Americans would admit they are racists … perhaps the few thousand who are Neo-Nazis or KKK members,”
Here is the Link to the Article:
http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global%5b_id%5d=14395
This video shows a clip of Rush Limbaugh’s show where he says that the only reason Barack Obama got the democratic nomination was because of his race. He says no one in the Democratic Party had the “guts to stand up and say no to a black guy,” he calls it “perfect affirmative action.” Then the video has a commentary by a member of “The young Turks,” the first nationwide liberal talk show and first live, daily Internet TV show.
He says that Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination fair and square because he had more votes. The Young Turk then gives facts from recent history to disprove Limbaugh. For instance, the Democratic Party has had no problem saying no to black people trying to run for president; Jesse Jackson did not get the democratic nomination in 1984 or 1988 and neither did Al Sharpton nor did Carol Moseley Braun get the democratic nomination in 2004.
Watch the clip for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lovF-f8bkTU
Please share your feedback and comments: 25 percent of Americans Listen to Rush Limbaugh’s show, if you are a listener feel free to tell why you listen? Do you think Race will play a roll in the upcoming presidential election; does Obama have the same chance at success as McCain does?
Students Teaching About Racism in Society : An organization on Ohio University's campus with the goal of educating itself as well as educating other students and community members about various forms of injustice present in society.
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5 comments:
I think, the race issue in this election is a very interesting one. I didn't know that they were articles that say Obama cold lose 6 points just because of the color. Why is that just on Election Day. People knew earlier about his color, to why are they likely to change their mind to late? Could you find more information about that?
Thanks for that really interesting fact.
It is good that you do know about the articles. I agree with what the articles say. I just feel that it is not so much some democrats changing their mind as it is some democrats knowing from the get-go that they could never vote for a black male to be president. This view may be how these democratic people feel but they are not strong enough to publicly admit it so they take the more socially accepted stance of supporting Obama out in the open and voting McCain when the curtain in the voting booth is closed.
OMG! Obama is the next president of the United States. I stand corrected that negative article from Yahoo can go to hell. The democrats did what they had to do and stuck by their beliefs in the voting booth. My confidnece and esteem have reached a new high!I am so pleased to see that America finally woke up!
It was really cool to read the post this morning, considering the outcome of the election. This is so exciting! I was up most of my night watching, and when they announced Obama as the 44th president, my roommate started to cry she was so happy. I called my mom a few minutes later, and she too had tears of joy. What a great night.
I'm excited to hear about how you spent election night, and what your initial reactions were. I'd love to hear what your family and friends had to say about it as well.
The fact that America elected a black president speaks volumes about the positive direction in which this country is headed. Could this cause stronger feelings of racism in some people? Sure. I'm certainly not looking forward to hearing comments from people who say that he only became president because he is black (like Rush said about his nomination to be the democratic candidate). But at the very least, this will inevitably open up opportunities for dialogue about the issue of race in this country. Racism is a problem in this country, no doubt. But without honestly acknowledging the problems and talking about them, there's no way that progress to be possible.
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