We're Back, He's Black, and Her Anaology was Whack

Under the RaceProject division of labor, Stephen is responsible for the blog for the most part. In the past two weeks, he has moved, had child care responsibilities and been on TV more than that "can you hear me now" guy. He sincerely apologizes for the delay (but invites you to check out his new YouTube channel.

Since we've been away, of course, a lot has happened in the Democratic presidential nomination. Barack Obama now has a majority of delegates and is being dubbed the "presumptive" nominee. Hillary Clinton is set to endorse him tomorrow (though rumors of her conceding the election on Tuesday evening proved to be premature). Before this turn of events, though, the focus was on what the Democratic National Committee was going to do with the delegates from Michigan and Florida, both of whom broke Party rules by having their primaries too early in the season. It was decided last Saturday that all delegates from both states would be seated with 1/2 a vote each.

In making the argument for those states -- which Clinton won -- to be fully seated, Harold Ickes went off the deep end, and Hillary Clinton made an analogy that further demonstrated her racial insensitivity (and we're not even talking about the suggestion that she was staying in the race because Obama could get assassinated like Bobby Kennedy).

At the end of last month, Clinton said the following:

"This work to extend the franchise to all of our citizens is a core mission of the modern Democratic party," she said. "From signing the Voting Rights Act and fighting racial discrimination at the ballot box to lowering the voting age so those old enough to fight and die in war would have the right to choose their commander in chief, to fighting for multi-lingual ballots so you can make your voice heard no matter what language you speak."

This is not the sort of coded racism that we have seen (and wrote about) at other times during this campaign. Rather, this demonstrates an insensitivity to race that cuts to the heart of what many people of color (and white allies) have argued makes representation by even the most well-meaning white progressives less desirable than by persons of color.

To be sure, we are not convinced that Hillary or Bill Clinton are amongst the most well-meaning white progressives; many of their statements during this campaign suggest that they may be political opportunists who have been attentive to the black community in particular more for political gain than out of genuine concern. When it became political expedient (courting the vote of racially resentful whites), coded racist remarks became the rule, rather the exception, in her campaign. But even if we give her the benefit of the doubt in this regard, the analogy of Michigan and Florida voters to Jim Crow demonstrates insensitivity to the suffering of African Americans.

It reminds us of a long-standing debate on which both sides have merit. Does representation in a democracy necessarily require persons with similar characteristics and life experiences as those whom they represent? For instance, can men who are feminists adequately represent the interests of women (to the extent that those interests are unique to that group)? Last year, we discussed the desire of a white man aiming to represent a predominantly black district to join the Congressional Black Caucus. Can empathy, compassion and understanding compensate for a life of experiences?

We are not ready to come to a conclusion about this broad debate, but Hillary Clinton's analogy is evidence for those who say that ideology is not a sufficient substitute for lived experience. It would be very surprising for a black member of Congress to make such an analogy. So no matter how much Hillary Clinton might "care" about black people (as opposed to President Bush, according to Kanye West), neither she nor her husband (despite Toni Morrison's claim) is not black.

From all indications, the battle for the Democratic nomination is over. But there are significant wounds to heal on the part of both Clinton and Obama. Part of that healing has to be some recognition of the way race worked in her campaign. Of course, you can count on us to keep our eyes open for the way language is used in this regard -- we just can't promise we won't miss a week here and there over the course of the summer.