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Feature
PowerList 2008
The Real
Significance
of obama
David Lammy MP on how the Presidential candidacy
of the senator from Illinois has changed the world
T
wo years ago, a junior senator from Illinois took the first step men and women all over the world seeing images of Obama in their
on an unlikely journey. Standing in front of the Old State Capi- newspapers and on their television sets cannot be overestimated. In
tal building in Springfield, Illinois, Barack Obama launched his an age where it is often argued that young black men lack positive
campaign to become the 44th President of the United States. Nearly role models, Obama represents what is possible in the modern world
150 years before, Abraham Lincoln had stood in the very same spot with talent, hard work and a little luck.
– to rail against the tyranny of slavery in his famous ‘House Divided’ However, despite his historic successes, Obama’s candidacy
speech. has not been without its problems where race is concerned. The
Throughout the campaign, Barack has linked his own life story – controversy surrounding his outspoken former pastor is well known.
a self-made lawyer, the son of a black man from Kenya and a white The media storm led to Obama’s own intervention on race, in the
woman from Kansas – with a wider American story. As much as anyone, shape of a speech that sought to explain racial tensions in America
he believes he is a living embodiment of the American dream. The by putting them in their historical context. Earlier in his campaign,
themes of his campaign reflect much of his own life: hope for a better Obama had received criticism that he was ‘too black’ and ‘too white’
future, communities coming together to solve problems, opportunity from different parts of his electoral coalition. Yet for many, Obama
symbolises the future: by the time Obama’s children are his age,
around one in five of the US population will be of mixed heritage.
Obama represents what is
That figure stands at seven per cent today.
Obama’s own position on race, not just his symbolism, is also
possible with talent, hard
worth dwelling upon. His view has always been that he will neither
let his candidacy be seen solely through a racial lens, nor ignore race
work and a little luck
as a critical issue for America’s future. As he knows only too well,
inequality still resides in many of America’s inner cities. As one study
has found, there are more black men in jail in the United States than
there are in higher-education institutions. That has to change for
for all. Yet, as the echoes of Lincoln suggest, Obama’s candidacy also America to fulfil its promise.
represents how far America has come. The only black Presidents that Americans have seen were named
After all, an Obama victory in the primary season was far from Palmer, Beck, and Gillian – and they were in a television show (24)
inevitable. When I visited him and his campaign in February, the and two films (Deep Impact and Head of State). As in so many areas
pundits were split about his chances of winning. Months earlier, many of life, it looks a lot easier in Hollywood. This was the lesson learned
had written him off, observing that he lacked his main opponent’s by Shirley Chisholm and Jesse Jackson in their own, trail-blazing bids
name recognition, her experience, her political networks, her access for office. Chisholm fought her way to the Democratic convention
to big financial donors, or the track record that she and Bill Clinton in 1972, before Jackson eventually won 6.9 million votes and seven
had developed over 25 years in frontline politics. Most significantly, primaries in 1988. Both made huge strides, challenging stereotypes
many still doubted whether a black man could mount a realistic at every stage.
challenge for the Presidency. Now he has been elected by his party Whether Obama will eventually win the Presidency this year is
to run for the Presidency. unclear. What we do know, though, is that his emergence will serve,
He has swept away the stereotypes and the scepticism that globally, as a defining moment for race politics. His task, should he
greeted the announcement that he would run for the highest office. become President, will be a tall one: global warming, turbulent times
And whether I have been in America, Britain or Guyana over the and international terrorism all await the next occupant of the Oval
past 12 months, it has been impossible to ignore the social and Office. His achievement is that through his candidacy alone, the
political impact of Obama’s meteoric rise. The significance of young world already feels a very different place.
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