Did you know it’s now okay for black people and white people to talk about race? (The New York Times says so.)
Yes, friends, we have Barack Obama to thank for lessened “interracial anxiety” between blacks and whites, according to this article today, “Talk About Race? Relax, It’s O.K.” which could also be titled: “Duh.”
The Times interviews George Rice, 45, who is biracial. Instead of white people saying stuff to him like “You look like Tiger Woods” and “Are you related to Condoleezza?”, now that Obama’s in the spotlight, they use Barack as an ice-breaker instead. Progress! In fact, Rice’s wife is white, and they’ve been married for six years, which means, hmm. Obama can’t be responsible for that, can he? Anyway, moving on.
If there is one (sort of) uplifting part of this piece it’s this:
On the morning after the election, Kristin Rothballer, 36, who lives in San Francisco, kissed her female partner goodbye on the train while commuting to work. A black woman who sat down next to her turned and said she was sorry that Proposition 8, the amendment to ban gay marriage in the state, looked like it was going to pass.
“We grabbed hands,” Ms. Rothballer recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, I really want to congratulate you because we have a black president and that’s amazing.’ ”
“Our conversation then almost became about the fact that we were having the conversation,” she said.
See? Black people talking to gay people. This has never happened before.
Talk About Race? Relax, It’s O.K. [NY Times]