The Ties that Bind - Is Race Stronger than Beliefs?

February 20, 2008 Christina V. Mills As though I didn’t already get enough flack for being a black Republican.  I’ve gotten so used to being told that I am somehow betraying my community, that somehow skin color translates to particular beliefs, and that I am simply out of my mind that I have learned to ignore the negativity. However, something has happened that caused my ears to perk up again:  Barack Obama.  Arguably the most inspiring speaker of my (rather short) lifetime, Obama has caused the few black Republicans that I know to move to his cause.  Of course, the rhetoric began again for why I should vote Democratic. And it makes sense!  How often will I have a chance to vote for an African American candidate who is actually viable – a candidate with the uplifting and uniting words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the devotion to change of Nelson Mandela? In a moment of passion, I was convinced.  A Republican since high school (only a few years ago), I was already ready to jump ship.  But then I had to ask myself a very important question:   Are racial ties stronger than my beliefs?  What a question!  In my 21 years, I hadn’t really thought about it before.  I doubt many much older than me have either.   Yet then I recalled when my mother made me memorize the speeches of Dr. King and recite them in front of church audiences.  You can guess that the first one was “I Have a Dream.”  I’m sure you remember the poignant line, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I must admit that I was not alive during the Civil Rights movement and can hardly relate to the stories that my parents tell of being spit on as the white children went to school on the bus while my parents walked.  I can hardly relate to stories of being denied jobs at companies such as Coca-Cola simply for being black.   Therefore, I have a great deal of sympathy for older black conservatives who are so inspired by the idea that one of our own may become the president of our country.  I too am inspired by how far the black community has come. Yet is it not a good thing that the United States has progressed so much (though definitely not completely) that I have not experienced these explicit racial inequities and thus cannot relate?  That I am finally judged by my character rather than by the color of my skin? Is it not a glorious thing that Barack Obama has received the majority of the white vote in ten consecutive states in a row running against a white woman?  Clearly, many white Americans are judging Obama by the content of his character rather than by the color of his skin. Then why must I, a black female, feel obligated to vote for Obama simply because of his skin color?  Is that not exactly what we were trying to get away from? I have the utmost respect for Barack Obama, and wholeheartedly support his candidacy.  I would indeed by very happy for him and for the black community if he were to become the President of the United States.  However, I must hold the same value of voting regardless of race that I expect in white Americans for myself.   I joined the Republican Party because I have certain beliefs about the way government should be run that Obama simply does not have.  And unfortunately I must stick to my beliefs.