Okay Black People

During any given day, I usually have a couple of "okay black people" moments and I'm black, so not only am I allowed to have them, but I'm also allowed to talk about them. I recorded Friday's episode of Utopia. I haven't seen many episodes since the premiere but I figured I would check in on the cast. Anyway, a white guy made a comment to a white woman that she found so racial that she had to run and tell the black guy. I was wondering what the guy said. Fortunately they edited in his actual comments. The white guy said something like he hoped the next woman who entered the community didn't prefer black men. He said it because he's single and he wants some loving too. I immediately understood his comments. As a black person, I didn't find it offensive or racial at all. It seemed logical to me. I was somewhat annoyed that the woman went and repeated it and made it seem like something that it wasn't. Sometimes people are way too sensitive about race. Every time a person's race is mentioned does not mean that it's a racial discussion. I purposely used white guy, white woman and black guy in this paragraph, because, like it or not, race is one way of describing people. The issue was resolved after the black guy confronted the white guy and let him know that some of his jokes rubbed him the wrong way. There was a blow up and later they reconnected and had a civil discussion about it and the black guy accepted the white guy's apology. For me, the drama was over nothing. 

This morning, I planned to only discuss the incident that happened on Utopia, but I saw an article that caught my attention. Apparently, Rahm Emanuel (the mayor of Chicago) was going to name a new school after President Barack Obama. The article said that he changed his mind "amid ongoing criticism from African-Americans who felt the honor inappropriate for a school slated for a wealthy, predominantly white part of the Near North Side." Um...okay black people. I guess only a black school should be named after a black president. Let's completely ignore the fact that Barack Obama is half white and that he was raised by the white side of his family in a predominantly white community and that he and Michelle had worked their way in to being "haves" before running for president was even a thought on their political agenda. Let's pretend that we missed the fact that the president finished his undergrad at Columbia University (my alma mater) or that both he and his wife went to Harvard Law School, and let's completely ignore the fact that his two daughters attend an "elite school" in Washington D.C. Let's wish the facts away and picture Barack Obama as a black president and nothing more. Let's ignore the fact that he is America's president and that he has only recently sought initiatives to help poor minority communities. Let's just pretend that he is one of us. He's just your average hardworking black person. Now open your eyes and look at the reality of the situation. Barack Obama is neither poor  nor middle class, he is securely situated among the upper class. He is a wealthy, half white, American. Why can't his name be on an elite school in a wealthy, predominantly white part of town? Do you know how many poor predominantly black schools are named after white presidents? Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way, but I like the idea of a presumably mostly white school being named after a non-white president. Let's stop talking about being post-racial and let's actually make some progress towards that goal. Barack Obama is not solely black America's president, so stop treating him like he is. Okay black people?