Kenice Mobley

Rarely does it happen in the public sphere.

A politician engaged all Americans, regardless of skin color, in a conversation about race.

Unlike more private conversations aimed at a particular group, it lacked a sense of guilt or shame, of anger or defensiveness.

This accessibility may be behind the multitude of praises Barak Obama has accumulated over the last week.

He expressed a sincere desire to open the conversation, but some may substitute the presence of such a speech for the entire discussion.

One of the best ways to limit discussion and subvert an ideology is to commemorate it as beyond reproach.

After hearing the speech, will people decide that listening was all they were required to do, and that America has finally addressed its race “problem”?

Many news outlets discussed the speech but stopped short of commenting on the country’s racial complexities.

In one of the most powerful moments of his address, Obama presented Americans with two scenarios.

In the first, Americans are faced with the same old divisive and cynical politics in which and differences are exploited for political gain.

In the second, we chose to focus on issues that affect all Americans, and we work together to solve them.

The importance of the speech was lost on some groups.

They saw Obama’s speech as nothing but a hollow attempt to save his candidacy after a national scandal.

They viewed the comments of Reverend Wright, and found them so incendiary they believe that by simply maintaining association, Obama is not fit to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.

Instead of focusing on the larger issue, they focus on a subset of events taken out of context, and prevent the advancement f the national conversation.

Others think his speech did not go far enough to address issues of discrimination in America.

It is true that he largely left Hispanics, Asians, immigrants and women out of the conversation.

Like blacks and whites, these groups face their share of abuse and reactionary anger.

Obama acknowledges that this was only the beginning of a national conversation.

After all this praise, other candidates may be encouraged to fully address the issues affecting the daily lives of Americans that have long been neglected.

Instead of talking in terms of getting elected, they may begin to examine the causes and historical background for the situation in which we find ourselves today.

However, they have yet to try.