As the presidential pendulum swings and the race gets tighter, the American public is asking a lot of questions.
Who’s best with national security? Health care? The economy? Can a woman rule the White House? Will John McCain be the comeback kid?
The most pervasive question of all, though, is the one about race. Is America ready for a black president? To divulge the answer, the more fundamental issue over how Americans view race in 2008 must be addressed.
Lynn Hampton, an assistant professor of sociology at MTSU, said that race will continue to be a concern as long as people continue to develop their beliefs about people based on race. Hampton, who teaches a course titled “Social Problems,” added that people are not comfortable having meaningful dialogue around racial issues and change must occur for the country to continue to move forward.
“I’m not saying the conversation needs to be intense,” Hampton said, “but just to be able to discuss issues related to race without people being fearful, defensive, [or] afraid they’re going to step on somebody’s toes.”
Hampton, an African-American woman, said she is not interested in a colorblind society where people see her without noticing her race because she considers her race an integral part of her identity.
The professor said, instead, she believes the country should strive to reach a point where people are not judged or preoccupied by race. The country has come a long way, Hampton said, but not far enough.
“African-Americans are doing better, but if you [compare] how African Americans are [overall] in comparison to whites, there are still huge discrepancies in terms of inequalities,” Hampton said.
“The Covenant with Black America,” a collection of essays with contributors such as Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. surgeon general, and Cornell West, professor of religion at Princeton University, states disparaging facts about racial inequality in the United States. According to “The Covenant,” African-Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, but occupy less than 4 percent of elected offices and had a median weekly wage of $523 compared to $677 for whites in 2004. African-Americans constitute 13 percent of all monthly drug users, but represent 35 percent of arrests for drug possession, 55 percent of convictions, and 74 of prison sentences, “The Covenant” states.
George Smith, one of Murfreesboro’s first black physicians and owner of Family Health Associates, a 29-year-old medical practice, said a positive attitude must be maintained because circumstances have been worse in the past.
“I was the only African-American physician in the [late 1970s]. People weren’t used to seeing a black man walking in the hospital with a white coat on, and I’mma tell you I got some strange stares,” Smith said.
Smith said his practice, with all African-American physicians, has been a community fixture for so long and has such a strong reputation that very few individuals in 2008 would turn down his services simply because of race. At the same time, Smith said he believes African-Americans still have to push themselves farther than most to succeed.
“I tell this to the African American medical students that rotate through [my practice]: you have to be better,” Smith said.
Rebecca Patton, an African-American woman and owner of Kleer-Vu Lunchroom, a soul food restaurant established in Murfreesboro during the late 1970s, said, although challenges still exist, the race factor can be overcome with determination.
“In the beginning, [my business] was like 90 percent black costumers and 10 percent white and now it’s almost reversed,” Patton said.
“I have a clientele of everyone now, from the ditch digger to the dignitaries and everything in between.”
Patton said good service and a good product have proven more important than race. She encouraged the next generation to have an optimistic mindset.
“Don’t give up. Obstacles will come in your life, but just stick with it,” she said.
