Perhaps you've seen the comments around the web to the effect that should Barack Obama win in November it will put an end to a period of our history marked by the exclusion of African Americans from the highest reaches of power. Maybe it will, but I doubt it. I think it more likely that if Obama prevails it will be seen by those who are vested in perpetual victimhood and grievance as only a partial achievement. Obama will be seen as a transitional figure since, the argument will go, he's not completely black and doesn't have "slave blood". His father, we'll be reminded, wasn't an American, and Obama was raised by whites and doesn't hail from a genuinely black family.
In other words, until an actual descendent of African slaves in America is elected president, I expect that many blacks will see Obama's presidency as little more than Moses standing on the mountain viewing the promised land from a distance. The actual arrival will have to await, we'll be told, the election of an "authentic" black man.
Indeed, I doubt that even the election of an African-American woman would be seen as the full-throated herald of a new age, although it would certainly have historic resonance. Her election would not be completely satisfying to those of a certain mindset, perhaps, since it would still tacitly highlight the exclusion of black males from the opportunities enjoyed by even their African-American sisters in our society.
Despite how this election is perceived, it's guaranteed to be a significant achievement in our social history. We will have either the first president who is not of full European descent or we will have the first vice-president who is not a male. These are interesting times.
RLC
