Barack Obama and the White Race

If the premise that the white race is a dominant race is an accepted one, then there must be some explanation for Barack Obama and his success in both life and as a political candidate. If those conclusions are true and the white race does actually suppress other races, the Obama must have been doing something different in order to change his lot in life. The most obvious explanation for his success, in light of the circumstances stacked against him, is that Barack Obama has concentrated on exploring avenues in life that have normally been traditionally white paths to success.

It could be said, first and foremost, that Barack Obama has tried to emulate the path that a white politician would take in terms of his education. Though he has not done everything like a white politician and he has some experiences that are certainly unique to his situation, he has traveled down an educational path that is normally reserved for white people in America. This all started when he got serious about education during his time at Occidental College.

A Barack Obama biography writes of his unique educational transformation, “Obama graduated from Punahou and went on to Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he decided to get serious about his studies. Midway through, he transferred to the prestigious Columbia University in New York City” (Barack Obama Biography). Going to a prestigious Ivy League University for undergraduate studies was only the beginning for Obama, though. He amped up his efforts and took it further with his decision to go to law school.

The biography states, “Feeling it was time to move on, Obama applied to and was accepted at Harvard Law School, one of the top three law schools in the United States. In 1990, he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review journal. He was the first African American to serve in the post, which virtually assured him of any career path he chose after graduation” (Barack Obama Biography). Though these things are obviously important in their own right, it is also important to note that Obama chose to network in traditionally white channels in order to form relationships that have helped him in his political career.

Though Obama took some pathways that would normally be reserved for a white politician, he never forgot about his roots. This has been one of the reasons why he was able to break the mold. He served as a community organizer in both Harlem and in Chicago, where he learned the inner-workings of the inner city. Still, even above all of this, it was something else that allowed him to have success that no black candidate before him has ever seen. That characteristic is his unique ability to communicate and motivate other people.

He is incredibly persuasive and his words empower people. Source Watch writes of how powerful and influential the Senator has become in his short time as a politician. In their biography, they write, “The April 18 2005 issue of TIME magazine listed the 100 most influential people in the world. Obama was included on the list under the section of ‘Leaders and Revolutionaries’ for his high-profile entrance to federal politics and his popularity within the Democratic Party” (SourceWatch).

This ability to inspire and move people has served the Senator well, as he has clearly broken the mold and caused people to look past his race in the 2008 election. This characteristic, along with the decidedly white path he chose have given Obama a fighting chance to be the next president of the United States. References Notable Biographies. Barack Obama Biography. < http://www. notablebiographies. com/news/Li-Ou/Obama-Barack. html > Source Watch. Barack Obama. < http://www. sourcewatch. org/index. php? title=Barack_Obama#Political_career >