A Mercy was published in 2008, the year of a historical presidential election.
The year opened with Hillary Clinton running against Barack Obama for the Democratic ticket. Hillary Clinton is the wife of former President Bill Clinton, and they have a daughter together. She was a Senator from New York, and received her B.A. from Wellesley College and graduated law school from Yale. Barack Obama was a Senator from Illinois. He had received his B.A. from Columbia and his law degree from Harvard. He is married with two daughters. Barack Obama won the Democratic ticket, saying in his speech "America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for this country that we love" (CNN). Barack choose Joe Biden, a Democratic Senator from Delaware, as his running mate. They ran against Republican presidential nominee John McCain, a Senator from Arizona, and his running mate, Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska. Barack Obama eventually won the election, becoming the 44th President of the United States and the first African-American President. He had 365 electoral votes, taking the states Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
This election not only featured race but gender. This was the first year that an African-American had a chance at becoming president while the other party would have a female vice-president. Over 14 million more people registered to vote than were previously registered for the 2004 election. Having read both slave narratives and ne0-slave narratives, witnessing the horrors of slavery through the stories (both fiction and historical accounts) it is truly magnificent that after 200 years of prejudice and racism in this nation, the people voted for an African American man to join the ranks of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington as their president, when not too long ago, he wouldn't have been allowed to vote, let alone run.
Works Cited
Biographical directory of the United States Congress. 2003. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.
"EAC releases data from 2008 presidential election U.S. Election Assistance Commission."
Welcome to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.
"Election Center 2008: Candidates - Election & Politics News from CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.
"OBAMA, Barack - Biographical Information." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Web. 30 Nov. 2009.
While it is indeed impressive that a black man has ascended to the ranks of power that white men originally held, sadly we still see that undercurrent that prevented blacks from being considered human still run through our culture today. And sadly, it doesn't look like this undercurrent can end anytime soon, as it continues to propogate due to hate and ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the undercurrent will end within the next generation. The past election represented how far America has come as a country and the important thing is to stress constant progress. That's how slavery was ended and how African Americans eventually gained equal rights in America.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Travis, that yes, we have made many impressive steps towards true equality within our nation. However, I don't think that we can use the election of President Obama as an indicator that racism and other inequality will soon be eradicated. The success of one individual from a minority group can not represent that group as a whole. Furthermore, we must pay attention to the class dynamics that also intersect matters of race and gender. I would contend that a person's "class status" has a greater effect on their opportunities than does their race at this point in our history.
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