'Glass ceiling' breaks with Obama win

President-elect Barack Obama delivered a speech on race at the National Constitution Center this spring.

When Barack Obama was elected president last Tuesday, student volunteers across the country felt a sense of accomplishment in the victory.

But for some black students, like College junior Lauren Wyatt, the victory meant "breaking the glass ceiling."

Obama will make history on Jan. 20 when he is sworn in as the nation's first black president - an inconceivable, if not impossible, achievement just a generation ago.

On election night, Wyatt joined hundreds of Penn students in marching toward City Hall in celebration and said she felt a sense of pride with the black Americans she passed on the street.

"We gave each other the Black Power sign," said Wyatt, who is the co-president of Penn for Obama.

Wyatt, whose family attended Obama's election party in Chicago's Grant Park, said she cried on the phone with her mother later that night in disbelief.

Ben Lewis, a College junior, said the election of Obama "says a lot about our country and the opportunities open to people of color."

Lewis thinks the country still has a long way to go in race relations, but said race as a political barrier might have been broken this year.

Still, many black students remain skeptical that this election has influenced how Americans view race.

"I don't want Obama's election to make people think that racism is gone," said Kellee Young, a College junior who has volunteered for Obama since the primaries.

Obama received more votes in most parts of the country than former Democratic nominee John Kerry did in 2004.

But in some sections of the South and Appalachia, former Republican nominee John McCain fared even better than President Bush had in 2004 - exposing underlying discomfort with a black president among some Americans.

Young said the election could have the negative consequence of making people think affirmative action is no longer necessary or that black Americans are not disadvantaged because of their race.

But Wyatt, who volunteered in Nevada during the Democratic primaries, said that for most Americans she encountered, "race was never the issue" in deciding whether to vote for Obama.

And while Obama largely minimized the topic of race during the election, many black Americans were not going to miss the opportunity to elect a black president.

Before this year, many black Americans thought that even if they voted, it wouldn't matter, Wyatt said.

But Wyatt said she encountered an unprecedented interest among the black community, a group she said is typically taken for granted by both political parties.

"This means more than our generation could possibly understand," said Wyatt, whose aunts participated in the 1963 March on Washington, during which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Young, whose parents and grandparents grew up in the segregated South, said Obama's win was a "monumental moment for them and shows how far American has come."

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Comments (5)

Wow Colin, I don't know where to start... First off, the terminology "breaking the glass ceiling" is not even necessary. How about, "America took a huge step towards distancing itself from its racist past." Your use of the term "black" 10 times throughout your article tells us something about you, and it's not just that you lack creativity... And let me get this straight: you think affirmative action is necessary? You may not believe this, but you haven't been able to hide your intentions with this article. Not at all. And I love these two: "Before this year, many black Americans thought that even if they voted, it wouldn't matter," and, "But Wyatt said she encountered an unprecedented interest among the black community, a group she said is typically taken for granted by both political parties." Now Colin, does the fact that I can read you like a book through this article disqualify me as a minority student who got into Penn w/o the benefit of AA? Probably not, right? Especially since you tried so hard to give yourself away in the first place...

Racism does still exist apparently...particularly among the Penn for Obama students who flashed the Black Power sign as this article documents. If McCain had won and white supporters flashed the White Power sign, wouldn't that be racist? How about flying an American flag instead.

Now that the ceiling has been broken and an African-American has assumed the highest office in the U.S., I assume that Penn will no longer automatically lower the admissions bar for black applicants, right? I won't hold my breath...

Whoa, Ramses, take a chill pill here. First, not really sure why the use of the phrase "glass ceiling" bothers you, unless you're peeved that is doesn't use the words "racist past." Second, according to the Associated Press, the correct way to refer to black people is by using the word "black." That's how it's done in the AP, and in newspapers around the world. Third, please quote where Colin has stated an opinion about affirmative action, other than quoting the opinions of other sources. Finally, as far as some black peoples' unease with voting, may I refer you to this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29anxiety.html?_r=1&scp;=5&sq;=florida%20blacks%20election&st;=cse&oref;=slogin Which came four years after this column: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E4D6173EF930A1575BC0A9629C8B63&scp;=1&sq;=A%20Chill%20In%20Florida&st;=cse Congratulations, you're a minority student who got into Penn without affirmative action. But how about doing a little research before you start calling a fellow student a racist? [QUOTE id="12b946f9-6cd4-4738-9008-020ff4b32cc6"]Wow Colin, I don't know where to start... First off, the terminology "breaking the glass ceiling" is not even necessary. How about, "America took a huge step towards distancing itself from its racist past." Your use of the term "black" 10 times throughout your article tells us something about you, and it's not just that you lack creativity... And let me get this straight: you think affirmative action is necessary? You may not believe this, but you haven't been able to hide your intentions with this article. Not at all. And I love these two: "Before this year, many black Americans thought that even if they voted, it wouldn't matter," and, "But Wyatt said she encountered an unprecedented interest among the black community, a group she said is typically taken for granted by both political parties." Now Colin, does the fact that I can read you like a book through this article disqualify me as a minority student who got into Penn w/o the benefit of AA? Probably not, right? Especially since you tried so hard to give yourself away in the first place...[/QUOTE]

I have a simple test for whether a pro-minority statement is racist. Take the statement, and then replace the name of the minority with "white". Read the statement. If you now feel offended by the statement, you probably shouldn't have made it.

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