If the colour of your skin doesn't matter.........

[Compostella]

.................................why is all the fuss being made about the 1st black president?

Whilst we're at it, same goes for Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Paul Ince; I thought colour didn't matter?

When Ince was made Manager, it was a big thing that he was the 1st black (English) manager. Would the 1st manager to beat Blackburn be allowed to get away with saying "I've beaten the 1st black Manager"?

No.

And why is the MOBO awards allowed to happen every year without comment? Can you imagine having the MOWO awards?

I can't help thinking that highlighting the colour of the mans skin detracts somewhat from the actual achievement.

I don't think that Paul ince got the Blackburn job because he was black, I don't think that Lewis Hamilton won because he was black, I don't think Tiger wins because he is black, so why bring it up at all?

I have heard people (presumably black) on the radio today, gloating "we did it" and "black uprising" etc etc

I had honestly not even thought about it until today.

[Gormless]

compostellla, the process will be self-limiting. For the moment people are leaping up and down and shouting Black is Brilliant, which indeed it is, but what if it turns out to be not quite as brilliant as all that? The knife crime in London has been attributed to black kids in the main, but what if it is all wrong, that it is 99% white kids doing it? I don't see how this is going to help black people unless you legislate to alter the facts. Ah, I am getting a nudge...

[sn�gged]

The 'fuss' is purely 'novelty' value in these specific instances... there has never been a Black F1 Champion or US President until now...

Its not the fact they are 'Black' necessarily... if they were the 'first' Native American Indians, Japanese or Men from Mars in these positions the same 'fuss' would be made...

[derekpara]

I agree, Compo. ( See my earlier post) I think the people who you say are 'gloating' will do Obama and Hamilton no good at all. Let's celebrate their achievements as human beings - not just as ' black.' OK, they are a first, and that's great , and I applaud that as much as anyone.

[Ethel]

The MOBO award is for music of black origin, not musicians of black skin.

Many white people have MOBO awards, Mick Hucknall for example.

The fuss about a black American president is because until 1964 many people weren't allowed the vote in America, and a huge per centage of those were black.

The Ku Klux Klan was very well supported in the 1920s and it is only really since the end of WWII that such racism started to decline.

This is all very recent history.

[sp1814]

The MOBO Awards?

I can't believe that question has popped up again.

I now know how Bill Murray felt in Groundhog Day.

Here you go:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Music/Question1 45492.html

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question14 5339.html

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question29 5519.html

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Society-and-Cul ture/Question458380.html

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Music/Question2 96009.html

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Society-and-Cul ture/People-and-Places/Question247462.html

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question29 5134.html

Compostella - I don't know whether you're new to this site, but honest - the MOBO thing gets brought up at least four times a year.

MOBO stands for Music Of Black Origin.

It is open to members of all races. It's not the racial background of the nominees which defines whether they are eligible for inclusion, but the music they produce.

If they work in the fields of rap, soul, jazz, blues, grime, hip hop or any of the subdivisions of these musical forms, then they are eligible for inclusion, white or black.

Pr

[sp1814]

With regards to the election of the first African American to the White House...this is a huge story.

Remember, it was only back in the sixties, within living memory that black activists had to take to the streets to demand their civil rights.

I bet they couldn't imagine a time when an African American would become president. This is absolutely the best thing I can recall living through, and I wish him all the best.

Next up - let's have a woman president.

In 100 years more top positions will be taken by people who aren't white and don't have testicles, and our great grandkids will look back and see us as a pioneering generation.

I think it's just brilliant.

[123everton]

You can't get much whiter than Mick Hucknall.
Will Run DMC still sing fight the power now a black man's in charge?

[olddutch]

SP
then , to even it all out , why not have a MOWO awards in which Black People can take part providing they sing in musical genres outside those qualifying for the MOBOs ?

[THECORBYLOON]

How many black managers have there been in the top divisions? How many black grand prix drivers have there been? How many world class golfers have been black? How many world class tennis players have been black? Colour should not matter but in some sports at least, non-whites are under-represented.

In some parts of America in the Sixties, an African-American would not have been allowed to sit next to a white person on a bus. To-day an African-American is the next President of the USA. Can you not see the progress?

[Theland1]

I hate green people!
They only ever appear at the end of the night in th pub, and they just stand there grinning, and their pet pink elephants are no better!

[Ice.Maiden]

Funny you should say that, Theland. After a few glasses of Turkish Raki, the little green people seem to come out in profusion. Never seen their pet elephants, but I think they're aliens, because their eyes are like saucers.
Apologies to Compostella, but it shouldn't matter WHAT colour someone is, so long as they do their job properly.

[jno]

it probably won't matter next time, just like it won't matter so much if the UK has another female PM. But the first one is always going to be a huge story.

It is only 20 years or so since the last lynching

[pastafreak]

It was more than just 'sitting' next to a white person.... only a few seats would have been set aside for blacks. All others were for whites...no matter if they were all empty-a black could not sit there. There were seperate entrances,seperate seating areas in restaurants ,loos,....and of course schools. Even in a court of law...the bibles sworn on were seperate!!.....and don't forget the possibly 1000's of blacks who were victims of lynchings.
It was a truly horrific period. The end to 'legal' segregation certainly did not put an end to the widespread prejudice so prevalent.......it continued for many years.

[Hammer Head]

Apparently the White House chef has had to urgently look up recipes for Rice and Peas with Fish Heads. The local Washington banana salesman is apparently rubbing his hands with glee.

[Theland1]

I wonder if Kenya may get first call on the foreign aid?
Granny still lives there I see.

[Quinlad]

I'd be very surprised if Run DMC sing anything anymore, given that they retired in 2002. And one of them is now dead.

Speaking of rap, remember when Eminem first appeared? It was a novelty seeing a white man succeed in a black-dominated field, and as I recall, it was all anyone talked about when his name came up.

Because it's unusual, and therefore newsworthy. And if you can't understand why the first black president is a talking point, then you really do have a primary school understanding of the media and human nature.

Presumably, you'd also object to those news stories about 8-year-old maths genius winning places at Oxford University - after all, it's ageist. Why should that get talked about more than the thousands of other undergraduates of normal age? Because it's unusual. And that's what news is.

[sandmaster]

What many gloating black people seem to forget is that Obama's mother is white.
What does it matter? It is what we do, not what we are, that counts.

[Ethel]

A black person has won a grammy for singing opera.

Does that count, olddutch?

[Oneeyedvic]

Will the first white person to run a 100m under 10 seconds get recognition? Pprobably.

Will the first man who carries a baby in an inseminated womb get recognition? Undoubtedly - despite the fact that women do this on a daily basis.

[BertiWooster]

Compostella / Sandmaster

You must have been watching / listening to different news items to the rest of us .
I haven't seen or heard any black people gloating

What I have seen / heard are black/white people rejoicing in the fact that the american ideal is still alive .

That despite the situation not so long ago regarding the oppression of people of african origin ( as listed above by pastafreak ) -, to save me listing them again - we are at a stage where a large percentage of americans can put aside any prejudices that they may have had ; and vote in as president a person with african ancestry .

That is what is being celebrated .

Things are not perfect yet , nor will they ever be , but this is an important and historic step forward .