World | USA
'President-elect brings us the respect we deserve'
Black men hope Obama's success will bring them recognition
- By Carla Hall and Marjorie Miller, Los Angeles Times-Washington PostNews Service
- Published: 23:54 November 13, 2008
Los Angeles: Hakeem Holloway may be a classically-trained musician who has played with orchestras around the world, but when he crosses a Los Angeles city street wearing his typical uniform of jeans and a hoodie, white women have been known to eye him, a black man, and clutch their purses more tightly to their sides.
Frank Gilliam, the dean of the University of California, Los Angeles' School of Public Affairs, sometimes flies first class. When he does, white passengers often ask Gilliam, who is black, if he's a record producer - if they talk to him at all.
Even as millions of black Americans revel in Barack Obama's victory, some still wonder if this transformative moment in US politics truly will transform perceptions of black men. How much, if at all, they ask, will Obama's victory shatter that glass ceiling?
Blinding success
Holloway, a 31-year-old double bassist with a master's degree says one problem for blacks is that success often blinds people to colour - in the wrong way.
"We have plenty of black comedians, actors, athletes," Holloway said. "And plenty of time, everybody regards those people as not black. 'Michael Jordan? He's not black. He's Michael Jordan'. 'Barack Obama? He's not black. He's Barack Obama'."
Murrell Garr Jr, associate pastor of the Friendship Baptist Church in Yorba Linda, expresses the hope that many feel: "As black men, we feel we have a voice now. We've been crying out in the wilderness. We have skills, qualities. Now people will give an ear to what we're saying."
White projections
In the past, some whites often did not listen, instead projecting their racial anxieties. "The image of the black man is fear," said Damian Thompson, 35, a self-employed graphic designer. "I think Barack changes that and brings us the respect we deserve. There's a bunch of Baracks. We just don't get to be seen that way."
Others couple hopefulness with scepticism about the ability of an Obama presidency to change ingrained racial perceptions. Gilliam, for one, has seen times of national fellowship come and go.
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