What once was history is now beside the point – except when it isn't.
For proof of the positive, look to the First Family's visit to Ghana. For the unfortunate negative, turn to the stereotypical insults thrown at Malia Obama, all of 11 years old. My colleague Bonnie Goldstein [ http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/07/13/hate-speech-finds-a-home-on-the-web/ ] gives a pretty good account of that odious back-and-forth.
Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, is an African-American. That's old and not particularly relevant news. The rest of us are preoccupied with the economy, the escalating conflict in Afghanistan and what other secrets the CIA may be keeping from Congress. Approval and criticism of the president should be about policy and results, not race.
But Obama's own history lent a poignant tone to the family's pilgrimage to Cape Coast Castle [
] – where many Africans began a journey to slavery. His speech there crystallized the tangled sentiments and complicated history:
"As Americans, and as African-Americans, obviously there's a special sense that on the one hand this place was a place of profound sadness; on the other hand, it is here where the journey of much of the African-American experience began. And symbolically, to be able to come back with my family, with Michelle and our children, and see the portal through which the diaspora began, but also to be able to come back here in celebration with the people of Ghana of the extraordinary progress that we've made because of the courage of so many, black and white, to abolish slavery and ultimately win civil rights for all people, I think is a source of hope. It reminds us that as bad as history can be, it's also possible to overcome."
It was personal history used to move the dialogue forward. So far, so good.
The Obamas' overseas trip has unleashed an uglier take on the history of black and white in America. Malia Obama, 11, has been slimed, maligned and worse, called every name in the book. Her offense? Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a peace sign in Italy. That's all that was needed to disregard the rule that a politician's children are off-limits.
In this case, it's not just partisan sniping. And it wasn't just the shirt, as Web postings quickly drifted away from what she wore to who she is. The character of a child was attacked with vigor and venom.
The First Family represents America. That fact alone drives some people crazy. Insults of the president's wife and children predictably and sadly rely on stereotypes of black women that will not die. The list never changes – the myths that say we are promiscuous, unattractive and unworthy of respect. It was once an excuse for rape and enslavement. Then and now, it's despicable.
It's even starker, coming as it does, in the wake of the flap over David Letterman's ill-considered jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter.
Will there be protests and pickets over the back of the hand given the Obama women? I doubt it. It's hard to get in trouble for disrespecting a black woman in America, no matter her age or education. There's no protection, even if you live in the White House.
This is one piece of history that is hardly in the past.
U.S. president says former holding area for slaves also offers hope
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
July 11, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT CAPE COAST CASTLE
Cape Coast Castle
Cape Coast, Ghana
3:57 P.M. GMT
THE PRESIDENT: Michelle, the children, as well as other members of my family, just got an extraordinary tour of this castle. It is reminiscent of the trip I took to Buchenwald because it reminds us of the capacity of human beings to commit great evil. One of the most striking things that I heard was that right above the dungeons in which male captives were kept was a church, and that reminds us that sometimes we can tolerate and stand by great evil even as we think that we're doing good.
You know, I think it was particularly important for Malia and Sasha, who are growing up in such a blessed way, to be reminded that history can take very cruel turns, and hopefully one of the things that was imparted to them during this trip is their sense of obligation to fight oppression and cruelty wherever it appears, and that any group of people who are degrading another group of people have to be fought against with whatever tools we have available to us.
So obviously it's a moving experience, a moving moment. We want to thank those who arranged for the tour and the people of Ghana for preserving this history. As painful as it is, I think that it helps to teach all of us that we have to do what we can to fight against the kinds of evils that, sadly, still exist in our world, not just on this continent but in every corner of the globe.
And I think, as Americans, and as African Americans, obviously there's a special sense that on the one hand this place was a place of profound sadness; on the other hand, it is here where the journey of much of the African American experience began. And symbolically, to be able to come back with my family, with Michelle and our children, and see the portal through which the diaspora began, but also to be able to come back here in celebration with the people of Ghana of the extraordinary progress that we've made because of the courage of so many, black and white, to abolish slavery and ultimately win civil rights for all people, I think is a source of hope. It reminds us that as bad as history can be, it's also possible to overcome.
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