JOHNSON: When fear and cynicism give way to hope
By Bill Johnson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 28, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Scenes from a bench on the 16th Street Mall . . .
They had been sitting there for much of the afternoon, just up from Welton Street, two women watching people walk by.
"A convention is a waste of money," one of them says out of the blue, "what with all these poor people in the world."
"It gives people something to do," the other replies.
"They could go on vacation."
"Vacation?"
"Send them all on vacation without spending all that money."
"Now you know the one who holds onto all of her money."
Dot Edgerton, 62, and Willie Mae Carter, 71, have been best friends since the day they met eight years ago on a bus tour from Denver to New Orleans. On Wednesday, they decided to come to the mall to "see the Obama people."
Both of the women are black. And that led to the usual conversation, as it has all week. I decided to spend the day exploring it further.
No, they both said, they had never expected to see in their lifetime a black man be nominated for president of the United States.
"I don't know what that says about me or our country, but never," said Willie Mae Carter, the, well, thrifty one.
They didn't vote for Hillary Clinton. It had nothing to do with race, they said.
"I met Hillary, even shook her hand at a book-signing about 10 years ago," said Dot Edgerton. "She was really nice. But I always vote based on the quality of the person, not by the shade of their skin."
Willie Mae Carter, for the first time all afternoon, nodded her head, agreeing with her friend.
She was sipping coffee just down from Curtis Street, a few yards east of the chanting Hare Krishnas and the Jesus people on their bullhorns, urging everyone to repent.
Cynthia McClain-Hill, 50, lives in Los Angeles and works for the Democratic Party's rules committee. It is OK, she said, she gets the question all the time.
African-Americans, she said, are more pragmatic about their politics than given credit for, that it always comes down to ability and who best can win an election.
She was never a Hillary Clinton voter, she said, but that Obama's "being black truly did not sway me."
At the beginning of the year, she said, she liked Obama, but did not believe he could win. And then she said what virtually everyone on the mall told me:
"Black people got a bad rap when our votes shifted to Barack, that it was all race-pride. That flies in the face of the facts, which is that blacks at the beginning of the year supported Hillary by 3-1. It makes me angry because it is dismissive and perpetuates stereotypes we are trying to explode as a party."
She has a 22-year-old daughter and a 19-year-old son. While she never thought she would see a black man nominated, her thoughts about it, Cynthia McClain- Hall said, are centered on her kids.
"They get to vote for someone who reflects the world as they live in and see it. They do not carry the racial baggage that my generation carries. When (Obama) speaks of looking past racial, class and gender divisions, he's talking about the world they already live in."
Dr. Louis Langston, a professor of humanities from Castro Valley, Calif., had just finished dining with his wife, Sandra. They had come to Denver for no other reason than to be here when Barack Obama is nominated.
"I thought I would see in my lifetime a black man be nominated for president, but that that would be the end of the road," Louis Langston, 66, said. "We are praying that this is not it, but the general indicators are . . . questionable."
For Louis and Sandra Langston, 62, it all comes down to race. There will be the inevitable backlash, they said. It is because Barack Obama is black.
They looked at each other before he said what this week has been whispered among folks of their vintage for months: Assassination. It tempers their hopes.
"There is a strong undercurrent of hesitation about this candidacy out there because of this big fear," Louis Langston said. "It is rarely spoken of, but I think it's real. It is a sad statement . . ."
I had to test Cynthia McClain-Hall's theory. I stopped Nicole Young on the mall at Wynkoop Street.
She is 31, has worked for two governors and will join a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., after the convention.
"I came to Denver because this is an historical event. And while I am still very cynical about this country and the world, I think Senator Obama's nomination is different for younger people.
"My mom went to segregated schools and lived that life. For her, it is a stretch to see a black man running the country.
"For me, I have always seen black people in positions of power, so it is different for me," Nicole Young said.
"I have my times of doubt, but I am hopeful, which is what his campaign is all about."
johnsonw@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2763.
Post your comment
Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.
Featured
-
Through Your Lens
Submit your photos or see the Editor's Choice slide show here.
-
Rocky Multimedia
The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.
-
Holiday Lights
Is your house the jolliest on the block? Submit your holiday lights display.
-
Holiday Gift Guide
Looking to get a jump-start on the holiday shopping season?
-
Mount Crushmore
Which four Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Vote here.
-
Bronco Dean's rant
Listen to Bronco Dean's midweek rant on the Chiefs.
-
Broncos Video
Get the latest from Dove Valley as the Broncos prepare for Sunday's matchup.
-
Calendar wallpaper
Download this month's desktop wallpaper calendar
-
Sam Adams' Open Mic
Open Mic: Stirrin' the Soup with Matt Iseman
August 28, 2008
7:09 a.m.
Suggest removal
JRoo writes:
Times are a-changin'. My grandparents couldn't fathom it. My parents are skeptical. I, however, grew up with people of all races around me struggling to make a go of it. We're all just people in my eyes.
When I first chose Obama as my candidate, I didn't see his skin. I heard his heart. That was enough for me.
August 28, 2008
8:42 a.m.
Suggest removal
PonchoVia writes:
I'm an independent 40 year old white guy who's voting for Obama because his message is one of hope and change rather than fear.
August 28, 2008
10:04 a.m.
Suggest removal
P_Denver writes:
"Hope" is not a strategic plan.
August 28, 2008
10:10 a.m.
Suggest removal
Don_Lopez writes:
Let me see if I’ve got this straight: The dramatic shift of black voters from Senator Clinton to Senator Obama had nothing to do with race but should Obama lose it will be all about race.
Is that about right?
August 28, 2008
2:49 p.m.
Suggest removal
Ottis writes:
"The dramatic shift of black voters from Senator Clinton to Senator Obama had nothing to do with race but should Obama lose it will be all about race."
__________________________________________
Two different issues. A shift in anything indicates a baseline, and then a change. A shift in black voters from Clinton to Obama shows that those voters were at one time for Clinton and I'm pretty sure Obama was black at the time. So if voters changed, there was a reason other than black affinity. There is no baseline for the people who won't vote for Obama because he is black. Until there is one, and we know its projected impact, you cannot say that those people didn't cause him to lose if he loses.
August 28, 2008
2:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
FredaBorden writes:
Barack is a good representative of a demographic in this country that cannot take responsibility for themselves. All their failures are someone else's fault. If he loses it's because the US is racist, not because he's too far left for comfort for a majority of US voters. I am quite confident that if someone more in the mainstream of thinking that happens to be black was running for President, they would win NOT because they are black but because they are mainstream. Barack, if he does win, will win because he is black.
August 29, 2008
1:58 a.m.
Suggest removal
Hstowell writes:
Nice try Johnson. It's your usual drivel with racist implications scattered throughout. If Obama loses this race it's not because America is racist. It's because America will have used good sense to overcome the white guilt you and others of your ilk have been attempting to cultivate. Obama is in no way qualified and worse than that it is likely he who is the racist. His own written and spoken statements would lead a reasonable person to question this but when you add in his associations and especially the teachings of his church of twenty years it's almost certain. It has been black voters, although somewhat understandable under the circumstances, who have been the most racist at the polls by voting for Obama in droves. I for one have no problem with a black President but I do have huge problems with Obama and there's nothing racist there.