We Aren't Past Race, Unfortunately

We Aren't Past Race, Unfortunately

On the History of the South email list, the moderator asked members to discuss what, if anything, President Obama's election has to say about the decline in racism in American society. I pointed out that while I had voted for McCain, it was a positive sign that at least for white Americans, race was no longer the big issue that it had been for so long. Obama wasn't elected just by blacks, but by a large number of white voters.

I mentioned that I had attended a "redneck barbecue" a few weeks before the election, and I heard a great many concerns about Obama, but race wasn't one of them.

I did point out, however, that at least 90% of black voters voted for Obama--a level that suggests that while race doesn't necessarily drive whites anymore, race still matters to blacks. After all, it is implausible that 90% of American blacks agreed more with Obama than McCain.

The reactions from other members of the list (which is almost entirely professors and grad students) was, unfortunately, quite predictable. I was told that of course it was plausible that only 10% of American blacks agreed with McCain. So I pointed out these facts.

For starters, in California, a large majority of black voters supported Proposition 8, to limit marriage to one man, one woman. According to the November 8, 2008 Los Angeles Times:

Although many of the state's black political leaders spoke out against Proposition 8, an exit poll of California voters showed that black voters favored the measure by a ratio of more than 2 to 1.

Obama clearly opposed Proposition 8. While McCain certainly didn't stick his nose into that initiative, it is quite clear that McCain was on the same side of the issue as more than 2/3 of black California voters.

This Zobgy poll shows that a majority of blacks, like John McCain (and quite emphatically opposite of Barack Obama), are pro-life. Those are just two fairly hot button issues where a majority of blacks nationally, or a supermajority in the nation's most populous state, agree with McCain, not Obama.

If American blacks were a completely homogenous group with respect to income, poverty, and life experiences, I would find the claim that 90% of American blacks just happened to vote for the first black President at least half plausible. But the fact is that while there is still a
disproportionate number American blacks who are poor, the majority are economically hard to
distinguish from their white countrymen. So yes, I find it utterly unbelievable that 90% of black
voters voted for Obama simply based on issues other than race.