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This article talks about how the election of Barack Obama into office for African American people was a cause of hope and pride.

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Like millions of Americans, racism researcher Derald Wing Sue, PhD, felt a surge of pride as he witnessed the country electing its first president of color. But alongside those feelings, Sue maintains a social scientist's perspective: Why did a majority white country elect Barack Obama? And what might his presidency mean for race relations in this country?

In terms of the election itself, the Teachers College, Columbia University psychologist believes the event represented a rare constellation of events that likely overrode rather than canceled out some people's latent racial biases. Those factors include Obama's immense talent and charisma; the fact that he came on the heels of several major crises and an unpopular Republican president; and in a more psychological sense, that some white Americans voted for Obama because he doesn't represent a "typical" black person.

"There's no way for me to prove this, but I think it's possible that [some white] people voted for Obama because he represents their unconscious view that he is an exception to most black Americans," Sue says, "and at the same time cling to the belief that black Americans as a group are not as capable and qualified as white Americans"-in essence, a microaggression, or subtle form of unconscious bias that is a major focus of Sue's research (see Unmasking 'racial micro aggressions').

Sue also plans to watch for the appearance of another microaggressive phenomenon his research has found: that white people hold minority and female leaders to higher standards than they do white male leaders.

"All studies indicate that you have to be a super minority to achieve what you achieve, and that when you achieve it, the standards are much higher," he notes.

On the plus side, Sue posits that as Americans get a regular dose of the Obamas-at least via TV and the Web-bias may fall, in accord with research showing that having intimate contact with those different from us and receiving accurate information in place of stereotypes can help dispel prejudice.

For people of color, the Obama presidency is clearly a cause for hope and pride, Sue adds. That said, he is concerned about what may happen when reality sets in and people realize that some of the inequities that existed before Obama took office-in education, health care and employment, for example-remain.

"Barack Obama is a symbol of what this nation could be, but it would be unfair to place all of the responsibility on one person," he says. "That responsibility resides with all of us."
-T. DeAngelis

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What will Obama's election mean for race relations in America?

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Like millions of Americans, racism researcher Derald Wing Sue, PhD, felt a surge of pride as he witnessed the country electing its first president of color. But alongside those feelings, Sue maintains a social scientist's perspective: Why did a majority white country elect Barack Obama?

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This article talks about Kamala Harris being elected into office and how she was the first ever to be elected as vice president elect of the US, being a woman of color.

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Kamala Harris has become vice-president-elect of the US, the first time in history that a woman, and a woman of color, has been elected to such a position in the White House.

Joe Bidenwon the presidency by clinching Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes on Saturday morning, after days of painstaking vote counting following record turnout across the country. The win in Pennsylvania took Biden's electoral college vote to 284, surpassing the 270 needed to win the White House.

Shortly after the race was called, Harris tweeted a statement and video. "This election is about so much more than Joe Biden or me," she said. "It's about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let's get started."

Similarly, Biden released a statement calling for unity.

"The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a president for all Americans - whether you voted for me or not," Biden said in a statement.

Harris, a California senator who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, will also be the first woman of mixed race to serve as vice-president. If she became president she would be the first female president, and the second biracial president in American history, after Barack Obama.

"I'm even more proud that my mother gets to see this and my daughter gets to see this," said Atlanta's mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, as she marked the historic moment and verged on tears in an interview with MSNBC.

"It's amazing, it's amazing. It brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart," said Susan Rice, former UN ambassador, who was also on the verge of tears in an interview with CNN. She said she hoped Harris's win would inspire young people across the country.

"I could not be more proud of Kamala Harris and all that she represents," she added.

Senator Cory Booker, one of only three Black senators, also marked the historic milestone for Harris.

"I feel like our ancestors are rejoicing," he wrote. "For the first time, a Black and South Asian woman has been elected Vice President of the United States. My sister has made history and blazed a trail for future generations to follow."

Julián Castro, the former Housing secretary under Obama who ran against Biden in the Democratic primary, wrote: "Donald Trump began his campaign with a racist tirade against immigrants and people of color. Today Kamala Harris, a Black woman and daughter of immigrants, helped make him a one-term president and will soon become Vice President."

Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who starred in the comedy Veep, tweeted: "Madam Vice President" is no longer a fictional character.

Women have run for president or run on major party presidential tickets before, the most recent being Hillary Clinton. Carly Fiorina was named as Texas senator Ted Cruz's running mate in the 2016 presidential election in that year's Republican primary before Donald Trump won the party's nomination.

Sarah Palin was the last woman to run as a vice-presidential nominee on a major party presidential ticket in a general election. Palin, while governor of Alaska, was part of the late Arizona senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.

But Harris is the first woman in American history ever to run on a successful presidential ticket.

Harris hugs Biden after she endorsed him at a campaign rally at Renaissance high school in Detroit, Michigan, in March. Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Harris herself ran for president in the 2020 Democratic primary but struggled to gain traction in the large field, and dropped out of the race months before Biden was named the party's presidential nominee.

On the campaign trail, Harris has brushed off questions about whether she was introspective about her heritage and race. In 2019, Harris said she did not agonize over how to categorize herself.

"So much so," Harris told the Washington Post in February 2019, "that when I first ran for office that was one of the things that I struggled with, which is that you are forced through that process to define yourself in a way that you fit neatly into the compartment that other people have created."

Harris added: "My point was: I am who I am. I'm good with it. You might need to figure it out, but I'm fine with it."

Harris was born in Oakland, California, and is the child of immigrant parents. She has one sister, Maya, a lawyer and political analyst. On the campaign trail, Harris rarely discussed her thoughts on her racial heritage in detail, but she has frequently described her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who was born in India, as a mentor.

Harris's family is also unique. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, who will become the country's first "second gentleman", has children from a previous marriage and is Jewish. Emhoff has been a close confidante and active participant in the Biden campaign, holding some fundraisers and appearing regularly as a supportive figure for his wife.

After the result, he tweeted: "So proud of you."

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Kamala Harris makes history as first woman of color elected US vice-president

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Kamala Harris has become vice-president-elect of the US, the first time in history that a woman, and a woman of color, has been elected to such a position in the White House. Joe Bidenwon the presidency by clinching Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes on Saturday morning, after days of painstaking vote counting following record turnout across the country.

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There are so many riots and protests going on about how there is still racism in America, but the Trump Administration denied the discrimination of African Americans.

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America’s Long Overdue Awakening to Systemic Racism

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For many who have spent their lives fighting for racial equity, this moment of reckoning has been a long time coming

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This article talks about how Biden doesn't think America is racist, but that the overhang from the Jim Crow laws and slavery having a cost they need to deal with.

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subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast

President Biden says America is not a racist country, but that Black Americans have been left behind and "we have to deal with it."

In an interview on NBC's Today show that aired Friday, Biden was asked about the remarks Wednesday by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who delivered the Republican response to the president's address to a joint session of Congress.

Scott, the Senate's only Black Republican, said that "America is not a racist country," and warned that "it's wrong to try to use our painful past to dishonestly shut down debates in the present."

Biden and Scott have divergent views on race in America, but the president agreed with the senator, to a point.

"I don't think the American people are racist," he said, "but I think after 400 years African Americans have been left in a position where they are so far behind the eight ball in terms of education and health, in terms of opportunity."

Biden continued, "I don't think America is racist, but I think the overhang from all of the Jim Crow and before that, slavery, have had a cost and we have to deal with it," he said.

"I don't think America's racist, but I think the overhang from all of the Jim Crow and before that slavery have had a cost and we have to deal with it." -President Biden pic.twitter.com/j52kCMC9O5
- TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 30, 2021

Biden was also asked in the interview about the situation at the southern border. He said the number of children seeking to cross into the country "is way down now, we've now gotten control," and asserted there's "a significant change in the circumstance for children coming to and at the border."

According to Customs and Border Protection, nearly 19,000 children and teenagers arrived at the southern border in March - the most ever in a single month. Biden, however, refused to label the situation a crisis.

Biden defended his administration's efforts to reunite children separated from their families by the Trump administration. "One of the things is we don't know yet where those kids are. We're trying like hell to figure out what happened. It's almost like being a sleuth, and we're still continuing to try like hell to find out where they are," he said.

Biden also discussed the state of the pandemic. Asked if all K-12 schools should be open this fall for in-person instruction five days a week, the president said, "Based on science and the CDC, they should probably all be open."

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Biden, In Response To Tim Scott, Says 'I Don't Think The American People Are Racist'

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subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast President Biden says America is not a racist country, but that Black Americans have been left behind and "we have to deal with it." In an interview on NBC's Today show that aired Friday, Biden was asked about the remarks Wednesday by Sen.

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This article talks about how Kamala Harris, of mixed Jamaican and Indian heritage, is the first black American woman to hold the second highest office in the country.

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Black Americans have made gains in U.S. political leadership, but gaps remain

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Kamala Harris’ election represented an advance in the progress Black Americans have made in recent decades in political leadership.

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This article talks about how state reps. El- Mahdi Holly and Jasmine Clark were the faces of political and demographic change in their country.

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Stateline Daily

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A Change in Politics With More Black Voters in the Deep South

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Stateline Daily Daily update - original reporting on state policy, plus the day's five top reads from around the web. Stateline Weekly Weekly newsletter-our best original reporting and analysis every Monday.