UMass students of slavery assess Tuesday victory
1
2
3
AMHERST - Election night celebrations went to 3 a.m. Wednesday for Barack Obama enthusiast Henry J. Allen Jr.
And when he woke up later that morning, the Amherst man and University of Massachusetts graduate student went out and bought seven newspapers to read up on the nation's reaction.
"I'm enjoying it," said Allen, 46, as he settled down Wednesday afternoon into a red cushioned chair for a UMass seminar titled "African Americans and the Movement to Abolish Slavery."
"After I get out of here, I think I'll celebrate some more," he added.
For Allen, Obama's decisive victory Tuesday night was a historic moment not only for himself, a black man, but for all of America. It was a mandate for the advancement of civil rights for all people, he said.
"If you look at it and say he just got the youth vote and the African-American vote, you're missing it," Allen said. Votes "came from all around. He got the rich and poor, the Latinos, the African-Americans, the young, people in middle age, all the people.
"The historic significance is almost like a vindication of civil rights," Allen said. "It's like, #OK, now we can all breathe a sigh of relief.' "
And his eight classmates did just that Wednesday afternoon in a classroom in Herter Hall - with a few sighs, affirmative nods and words of agreement.
"This represents a political realignment, a new coalition," said Manisha Sinha, the seminar's instructor and UMass professor of Afro-American studies. "But it goes beyond the history of the first African-American president, it reflects a shift in a different direction for the country."
A moment in history
On Wednesday, students in Sinha's classroom took an hour to reflect on the implications of Obama's run to the White House in the context of a nation whose history is marred by slavery. As a moment in history, Obama's election primarily stands as a victory for equal rights and the realization of the American dream, that anyone can work hard to make something of himself, said students.
"His election proves what we say in the Constitution," said Vanessa Fabien, 24, in reference to the 14th Amendment, which secured the rights of former slaves. "It was a burden lifted off our shoulders. This is what the Constitution says and this is what it does. It works." Students put Obama's election in the context of American history.
"It wasn't just a good day for African-Americans, it was a great day for all Americans," said Jessica L. Montagna, 27, of the election. "It was an historic moment for all of us."
Even as students applauded Tuesday's accomplishment, they also recognized the danger of holding Obama up as a symbol of a civil rights victory. People are not symbols and when they are held up to such lofty standards, they often fail to meet them, which can lead to undue disappointment, students said. He is not a "messiah," said Sinha, noting the fanatical devotion some people have demonstrated for the president-elect.
"He now holds all these identities and in many ways they don't reflect anything about him," said Amaad I. Rivera, 27. "I think he's gotten a lot of credit to be something he may never be."
What lies ahead
Eventually, America's focus on Obama will move past his milestone election and will instead center on what he can accomplish for the nation. Students, wary of the economic and cultural problems facing America, predicted this shift would happen swiftly.
On Jan. 20, 2009, Obama will take the helm of a nation gripped by economic turmoil. He will have two foreign wars to settle. On the home front, Obama has said he will address the spiraling costs of health care, the mortgage crisis and environmental challenges.
Sinha foresees Obama as a Franklin Delano Roosevelt-style president. She predicts Obama will "re-cobble" the New Deal, legislation created to pull America out of the Great Depression which guaranteed an aging American's basic needs, such as Social Security.
"I think he's really in the FDR way," Sinha said. FDR was in office when "government policies were squeezing the poor and working class and Wall Street was running amok - sound familiar?"
Obama "is a pragmatist," Sinha said. Former President Ronald Reagan "unraveled the New Deal," and Obama's task "will be to cobble it back together."
Students and Sinha said Obama may be well-positioned to tackle America's problems at home and abroad and his race may aid him overseas. As a black man, Obama will have the novel advantage of at least physically embodying the change the world has been demanding from America.
The new face and look of the president could make it easier for Obama to advocate for American causes abroad, Allen said.
"People everywhere are rejoicing because what they see is not business as usual ... they saw something different, a change," Allen said. "And if people see change in the United States, often we bring change, and we can bring that change to the rest of the world."
