Free At Last Pt. 5
Is Obama Black enough? That is one of the major questions/issues hovering around Illinois Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama. For some the answer is easy. According to columnist Debra J. Dickerson “Obama isn't black.
"Black," in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves. Voluntary immigrants of African descent (even those descended from West Indian slaves) are just that, voluntary immigrants of African descent with markedly different outlooks on the role of race in their lives and in politics. At a minimum, it can't be assumed that a Nigerian cabdriver and a third-generation Harlemite have more in common than the fact a cop won't bother to make the distinction. They're both "black" as a matter of skin color and DNA, but only the Harlemite, for better or worse, is politically and culturally black, as we use the term.
Wherever you fall on the issue it’s clear that identity remains a prime factor in our quest for total liberation. For many (though not all) identity isn’t just a matter of who we are as individuals are, but how we relate to the wider culture, how we view our history and what our place is in the world today. The very fact that we’re having this discussion concerning Senator Obama testifies to the importance we place on the issue. African-Americans have struggled with our identity since we were first forcibly brought to this country. Those of my generation who saw the mini-series ’Roots’ can still remember how Kunta Kinte was brutally whipped until he finally gave in an uttered the name his slave masters had chosen for him. Who among us can forget James Brown singing ’Say it loud… I’m black and I’m proud!�
To take away someone’s identity and replace it with another is to reduce them to little more than an object with little or no real value in this world. This may help to explain why black folks have struggled to self-identify. We like all others created in God’s image want to be recognized as being more than just someone’s property or a group who just happens to be here.
Yet the point of this post isn’t to dissect the intricacies of African-American identity as much as it is to explore how identity impacts our quest for freedom. For to determine who one is to promote one’s humanity and place in the world. To identify with a particular group of people is to embrace a shared history, a common culture, a mutual agenda, a collective group experience and a unified view of one’s place in the world and how that place is viewed by others. I believe that’s what Ms. Dickerson may have been getting at when she claimed that Mr. Obama is not black. From her viewpoint being black means having a shared history steeped in slavery and segregation, a common culture which in some ways is distinct from the majority culture, a mutual agenda that’s tied to ending any and all forms of racism and collective group experience of ongoing racism with the belief that though we’re Americans we’re still black first and American second. Though this is not the way all black Americans view themselves it is what many mean when they claim that Barack just ain’t black enough. For many African-Americans total liberation is tied to being fully recognized as African-Americans. That is we will experience a heightened level of freedom once America as a whole acknowledges fully our history and contribution to this nation, the validity of our people to be both American and yet have distinctive aspects of culture that are uniquely ours, our desire to fully participate in the American dream without racial restriction which is intimately tied to admitting the reality of ongoing latent racism that does impact our lives on a daily level, and common belief that black Americans have the same dreams, hopes, struggles, fears and issues as all other Americans.
In short we want to be seen as authentically African-American an identity that we can wear with pride and respect. The problem is that such an identity while having some good parts falls short as a vital piece of the puzzle moving us toward truly becoming free at last.
It falls short because its focus is confined to this world, this life and how mere humans view us. Black people will never find total liberation in any of the various forms or shades of blackness. We will be free not when others recognize the legitimacy of our history and contribution but when we acknowledge that history shows that we are a flawed and fallen people. Our greatness therefore can’t only be measured in magnificent ancient civilizations that built huge marvels but in the redemptive historical work of the living God that culminated with the sinless life, vicarious death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God. We should view the triumphs of our history as stamps of God’s image on our people as well as markers that point us to redemption in Jesus Christ.
While we certainly don’t endorse the notion of submerging all aspects of our cultural heritage beneath the dominant culture we must admit that true cultural freedom lies in adopting and pursuing an authentic Christ-centered culture. We are counter-cultural not because some of the things we do mark us as distinctively black, but because we willingly engage in thinking and living that are characteristic of the culture of the City of Zion. Identifying with Christ means that we accept and immerse ourselves in His eternal agenda to establish an indestructible and unfading kingdom of righteousness, peace, justice and joy. Like our Lord we fight against injustice, racism and oppression but not just so we can have the right to sit down and order a piece of pie from the restaurant of our choice. We do so as a witness to the gospel which is offered to all people freely and the blessings of which people from all ethnic groups share joyfully. Moreover the gospel empowers us to see those not from our particular family tree as true brothers and sisters. Seeing our identity in Christ means that we view our place in the world as a people here on his mission. Our goal isn’t a bigger slice of the American dream, but the whole enchilada of the new heaven and earth. Christ has freed us from having to spend the last ounce of our energy striving to ‘make it’ here because He’s prepared a place for us over there. To be free at last is to see and identify ourselves not ultimately as authentically black, but as authentically His.
For Christ, the Truth and the Church
Pastor Lance