Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Shelby Steele in the LA Times

Shelby Steele has an excellent article in the LA Times today. When reading that piece I got a sense of wistful sadness about race in America. You can see what I mean in the first couple of lines:
For the first time in human history, a largely white nation has elected a black man to be its paramount leader. And the cultural meaning of this unprecedented convergence of dark skin and ultimate power will likely become -- at least for a time -- a national obsession.
The same sense of despondence appears later:
The torture of racial conflict in America periodically spits up a new faith that idealism can help us "overcome" -- America's favorite racial word.
In my essay last week, American Awakening, I outline a couple of steps on America's long racial sojourn. Those steps will not "overcome" the issue, but they will inform our discussion.

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