Who We Really Are

This last election was what the Voting Rights Act of 1965 intended, although I am still not ready to give up this most effective civil rights statute.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, this last election, November 2008, had the most diverse electorate ever--nearly one in four votes cast came from a person of color. "The nation's three biggest minority groups--blacks, Hispanics and Asians--each accounted for unprecedented shares of the presidential vote in 2008."

In twenty years, the percentage of white voters reduced from 84.9% to 76.3%. "The white share is the lowest ever, yet is still higher than the 65.8% white share of the total U.S. population."

African American voters increased significantly from 9.8% to 12.1%, which is up almost a third. Hispanic voters doubled in twenty years, from 3.6% to 7.4% in 2008. Most importantly, black voter turnout nearly equaled white turnout: 65.2% for blacks and 66.1% for whites. The upsurge was mainly due to a rise in black women and young people voting.

Download the entire report from the Pew Center for Hispanics.

Unfortunately, although President Obama was elected, we are not yet in a post-racial society. We cannot avoid the painful and long history of racism that infects almost every aspect of our culture. White people might want to believe it's over, as we watch this extraordinary man lead our nation through this perilous time. However, from the perspective of people of color, the lines of respect, the opportunities, and the confluence of race and poverty are constant reminders that we ain't there yet.

And take a look at Alexandra Pelosi's documentary film "Right America, Feeling Wronged," her HBO film and you will see just how brazen and strong this racism is.

That's why we have to challenge ourselves to be intentional in reaching out to create opportunities for all of us to get to know each other. Eric Holder was right, although the media was wrong in how they portrayed his speech before the Justice Department on race. Take a look at it and see whether you are ready to be couragous.