» News » Blogs - Yvonne Hutchinson

Being in America to witness the first Black nominee for president in the nation’s history was quite an experience. The Democratic Party’s nomination of Barack Obama will certainly go some way towards restoring America’s image internationally.

I arrived in Florida during the worst of Hurricane Fay, which was quickly downgraded to just a storm and blew away after a couple of days. But even hurricane Gustav and the start of the Republican convention wasn’t able to dampen the upbeat mood.

One New York school teacher reported that there was a marked difference in the behaviour of Black boys in her class. Many had started working and to articulate personal hopes and dreams never spoken of before.

Just a couple of months ago I listened to British commentators self-righteously poking fun at the idea that ‘racist America’ might nominate a Black man as the Democratic Party presidential candidate. A plank in the eye perhaps?

I’ve been involved in politics and worked closely with Cabinet Ministers in the UK for over a decade. And my own experience is that the rhetoric of increasing minority involvement in politics bears little resemblance to reality in practice. Indeed, it was the uncovering of just how deep this hypocrisy ran that drove me to finally resign my fifteen year membership of the Labour Party.

For all the mistakes Tony Blair made, he wasn’t wrong to claim that we compare badly to the US for supporting and promoting capable black politicians locally and nationally.

Undoubtedly, Barack Obama’s narrow lead suggests attitudes towards race haven’t changed as much as they could have, given the deep unpopularity of the current incumbent. Nevertheless, Obama was right to point out that America has moved on significantly over the past 20 years. I was pleasantly surprised at just how much more integrated parts of the US have become compared with when I lived there as a teenager. Many families I met on my recent visit reflected the diversity of Obama’s own extended family.

American patriotism will always seem over the top to us and has led to some glaring blind spots. But which should we judge to be the worse, patriotism or snobbery?

Barak Obama with his astonishingly broad and diverse life experience and upbringing will enable him to relate more effectively to the diverse leaders and nations of the world. And should he become president, we could expect to see a much needed shift in American foreign policy.

The actions of the Bush administration forced America into a period of soul searching and a desire, for many, to put things right. Yes, we’ve also known seasons of soul searching but why have we been so slow to make tangible change? Our efforts to do the right thing are too often knee-jerk or tokenistic.

Tired, rhetorical speeches on equality in politics may give some a false sense of progress. But the sad reality is, the British political system has become a victims of its own snobbery. And the ability of the American people to elect Barack Obama as presidential nomination of a major political party has certainly exposed our own shortcomings.

Surely, it’s time for the rhetoric to stop. If we are to make an honest attempt to move to the next level, we should stop asking tired questions like, ‘where are the capable Black politicians?’ and start asking, ‘why aren’t they being let through?’