Over the last few months, it has become apparent that among certain groups and constituencies, Obama’s run has inspired many to reengage themselves in the electoral and governing process. As for us Americans swept away in the movement, I feel that it has become much larger than support for a single man for a single post in government. It has much larger implications for the future of
America and the evolution of our society. On the one hand, Obama has certainly benefited from being at the right place at the right time. In a nation fed up with current Administration, we longed for the return to the Oval Office of someone that can chart a new course for this country, re-integrate us into the global community and use the might and power of the US to actually make this a world a better place to live, or at least not make it any worse than it already is. We needed a fresh face. We longed for a symbol. An embodiment of the American image and values. In many ways and for many of us, Obama has become that symbol. And for his African-American supporters, he also became for us a symbol of a different sort. He represents an
America that is finally beginning to take significant strides in overcoming its racial inequities, and, in my opinion more importantly, he shows us that yes we too can attain the American dream. It is time that we finally let go of the vestiges of slavery and segregation that we ourselves hold onto and pass onto generation after generation. In a country in which a black man can be President, it is certainly possible that the rest of us can achieve success, in whatever way we choose to define it. There are clearly still external obstacles faced by Blacks everyday that we alone are powerless to fully remove from society, but there are also many obstacles that we place before ourselves and for me, he represents what is possible once those self-imposed barriers are removed.
Obama has, however, become more than just a symbol or representation. He actually has a very good chance of becoming our next President. While it may have been a fair amount of chance and fortunate timing that catapulted him onto the world’s stage, it was he who saw to it that he remained there. A year ago, not even I would have expected the nominating process to have played out the way that it did. I didn’t think that either Obama or McCain would win their party’s nomination. While many Americans have been swept away by the idea of Obama, one can no longer argue that he lacks substance, and at the end of the day, I believe that is what ultimately guides our votes. There are a great many problems facing Americans today and it will take much more than polished oratory skills and a fresh haircut to address the issues of the coming decade.
Abroad, however, it has become my impression that it is the theory of Obama that is of most importance, especially among black abroad. As reported in the New York Times, there has been a resurgence of the idea of négritude, which was championed by African leaders in France in the run up to the independence of African states in the 1960s, and mirrored by “Black is Beautiful” movements in the US in the decade that followed. Blacks in France, who have been battling with racial divisions in French society that have been bubbling to the surface in recent years, look to Obama to open the debate on the streets of Paris of what it means to be Black AND French. Unlike us Americans, they seem less concerned with Obama the man, as they are with Obama the image, which is understandable, considering that he would be our president and not theirs.
I’ve noticed a similar phenomenon here in central Africa, but on a much broader scale. During my few weeks here in Libreville, Gabon, I’ve spoken to several people about what they think of Obama and the race for president, and I feel that they see much wider implications for an Obama presidency than ever conceived by anyone I’ve talked to in the West. Whereas I see in him a stark departure from the Bush Administration and a catalyst for progress on many social issues that have plagued American society throughout our history, the central Africans that I’ve talked to see in him the potential to uplift the black race globally. Obama, to them, is Black first and American second. A win for Obama, is a win for black people everywhere. He is often the topic of conversation around lunch tables and in bars. When radio broadcasts a story on his campaign, the volume is always turned a little louder. Just this morning I was handed a flyer to attend a meeting of “Le Comité pour le soutien de Barack Obama”. I’m not exactly sure how they proposed to support him all the way from Libreville, but it simply goes to show the popularity that Obama has garnered in Africa. It’s a popularity that is not based on foreign policy or economic issues, but rather a struggle for equality felt by Blacks everywhere. A man told me that if a black man in America can be president, than Blacks around the world will finally start to get the respect they have so long been denied.
I don’t know if I subscribed to the grand ideals of Black transcendence through the Obama campaign that are espoused by many here in Gabon, but as a Black American in Africa, I do find it interesting that the people here feel that our destinies are in some ways inextricably linked and a victory for Obama is not just ours alone, but, at least in part, belongs to black people everywhere.
