""Obama: Torbearer and Trailblazer"
The implications for Obama’s inauguration are yet to be determined. What is certain, however, is that the United States is a different nation than it was in 1787, 1865, or 2000. Chattel slavery was abolished in 1865, de jure segregation was outlawed in 1954, black American’s citizenship and voting rights were affirmed in 1965, and white supremacy, though still alive and malignant, is usually denounced and looked upon as utterly reprehensible. The ability and eagerness of Americans of all backgrounds to embrace each other exists in the twenty-first century in ways that were unimaginable only one generation ago.
The installation of Obama as President, therefore, is a substantive measure of this seismic shift in American life, and his very person embodies America’s promise. His ascendency is not a cure-all, but it offers the water of renewal and unity for a nation thirsty for further advancement. Obama’s rise is not the final chapter in America’s quest to fulfill the dream, nor has it eradicated the problems that confront us. America endures, and the fight for freedom and justice for all continues. The torch still burns in the hands of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America.
Matthew C. Whitaker is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, and the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University in Tempe. He is also the CEO of The Whitaker Group, L.L.C., a consulting firm that specializes in diversity and human relations.
Arizona Republic
Sunday, January 18, 2009