How America has changed
Thursday, January 22, 2009 Last word (from me) on Barack Obama's inauguration. I agree with those who thought that his speech was good but not great. (Two days later does anyone remember as much as a soundbite?) Does it matter? Not really. A "great" speech would have only fuelled unreasonable expectations that one man (or government) can change the world. (Are you listening, Gordon Brown?) People have to accept that there is only so much that presidents, prime ministers and governments should - and can - do.
Nevertheless you would have to have a heart of stone not to share the joy of millions of people as an African-American was sworn into office at the White House for the first time in history. Many had travelled hundreds, possibly thousands, of miles to be there. Many more were residents of Washington and I suspect that a lot of them, especially the older generations, couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Twenty-five years ago, when I made my first visit to America, I was a guest of the Young America's Foundation, a staunchly Republican outfit whose slogan is "The Conservative movement starts here".
I was one of 20 young Europeans invited to spend 14 days in Washington. (My roommate, Michael Fry, was and is a journalist and historian.) Each morning we listened to or engaged with a high profile politico. After lunch we were taken on the series of excursions. I remember going to the White House (where Ronald Reagan was in office), Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument and so on. One day (my favourite) we visited the old colonial capital of Williamsburg.
Anyway, the point I want to make is that rarely if ever did we rub shoulders with any black people. In fact, it came as a surprise to be told that the majority of the population in Washington is non-white. The reason this wasn't apparent is because, as I later discovered, we were staying in what was effectively the white quarter, and each day our coach would take us from there into the Capitol Hill/White House area which, again, was dominated by white people.
The only time I saw a significant number of black faces was through the window of our coach when - for the first and only time - we drove through a visibly run-down area. Groups of people were milling around the entrances to various apartment blocks and I remember being told that in the summer, at night, many black Americans in these neighbourhoods would sleep outside because - in the absence of air-conditioning - it was too hot to sleep inside these crumbling, concrete buildings.
That was in 1983. To all intents and purposes segregation was still in place (if not in force) and for a black man, educated or otherwise, the road to the White House must have seemed like a million miles, and littered with obstacles.
Whatever happens during Obama's presidency, his election demonstrates that nothing is for ever. America has come an incredibly long way and if you believe, as I do, that freedom and racial equality are inseparable, we should be grateful for that.
