Obama Speech on Racism and Unity

A More Perfect Union: Race and Unity
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Issues of race are so sensitive because of the history of race in America. As Obama points out, race was an issue that “divided the colonies”—it was the “original sin of slavery” for America (1411). Some of the people who settled America had among them a racist ideology that allowed them to view blacks as inferior. They wanted to protect their power structure and way of life and that meant allowing slavery to continue. Race served as the pretext for this power grab. They pointed to racial superiority as their reason for being able to hold slaves. Even today people hold this racial view, which is why it is still such a sensitive issue: the nation is still divided.
Obama’s speech is a message of unity because throughout, he notes that he has brothers and sisters of all races—“of every race and every hue” (1412) he says; he states that his story is the American story, that his presidency could only have been made possible in America, where the worst crimes have been committed but where freedom and equality have also been pursued, albeit imperfectly at times. His opportunity to become president shows that America is still a work in progress but that it is one that is moving in the right direction. The more that Americans come together to celebrate their sameness rather than their differences, the more that the perfect union will be achieved. This is why Obama’s speech is a message of unity. It is an invitation to all Americans to live together and to recognize one another as brothers and sisters under the flag. By coming together and moving past the old racist ways, the country can heal and become stronger and more unified in its outlook, its vision, and its approach to people of all colors, creeds, and ethnicities. Unity is what compels Obama’s vision of an America where race is not a dividing point.
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Shirley
It is an important point that Obama makes about blacks not forgetting their past but also not being consumed by it. There comes a point where the past has to be left in its place and a forward looking people allowed to move forward and to overcome the obstacles in the way of progress. For the people of America, for both blacks and whites, Obama’s speech is an invitation to work together to recognize one another’s right to self-determination. Race should not be what divides us. It should be something that allows us to tell a story of our past, where we come from. Instead of being used to shame someone or to hold someone else up, it should be used as a window: a way to see back in time into humanity’s story. We all have part of this story to tell.
Khayla
Pointing out how too much emphasis on race can be bad for progress, Obama criticized Wright’s words as being too focused on racial issues. Obama does not want America to forget its past be he wants Americans to be able to look to a brighter future in which people are no longer bitter or resentful because of race. He is grateful for his heritage and believes that everybody should be—but when people cling to their hurt and their suffering even when the times call for healing and for moving forward, Obama urges Americans to forgive. The time for coming together is now, as Obama notes in this speech. The pain will always be there and always be most prominent if that is the only thing that is talked about. That is why Obama wants to introduce the concept of unity into the discourse—so that the pain can be overcome.

Works Cited
Obama, Barack. “A More Perfect Union.”