Barack Obama is a black man.
But, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll, if Barack Obama were a white man, he would have six percentage points added to his lead over John McCain.
The poll, conducted in conjunction with Stanford University, suggests that the amount of voters who may not vote for Obama solely based on race would nearly equal the current difference between Obama and McCain in national polls, thus closing the gap between the candidates and leaving the fate of the next oval-office occupant up to the toss of the Electoral College’s coin.
Much media attention has surrounded those stubborn voters who still openly resist and detest the idea of having black man as their president.
A new UCLA study called “Racism without Racists” argues these natural Republicans would never vote for a Democratic candidate in the first place. But the real problem, sociologists argue, is from those voters who believe in a well-meaning idea of equality but aren’t aware of their own unconscious racism. Extensive research shows about 50% of the U.S. population could fit this group.
The idea that everyday citizens try to appear more socially desirable by only verbally supporting black political candidates goes back all the way to something called the “Bradley Effect.”
Tom Bradley, an African-American and former mayor of Los Angeles, was so far ahead in the polls for California’s 1982 gubernatorial election that the papers were running headlines declaring him already victorious. But when the ballots came in, Bradley just barely lost.
The miscalculation was blamed on citizens who lied to pollsters by showing support for Bradley in an attempt to appear more open-minded.
The UCLA study focuses on an elusive but not exclusive percentage of Americans who aren’t aware that racism is clouding up their vision of the issues.
A past sociological study found that white employers, when blindly given identical job resumes for black and white job applicants, would hire the white person 76 percent of the time and the black person 45 percent of the time. The vast majority of these employers indicated in a values survey afterwards they were equally open to hiring a black employee.
It’s no surprise that people will stray from doing what they say they will, but the voter isn’t even aware of it is a crazy thing.
Unconscious racism is most likely to occur, researchers argue, when circumstances complicate a choice and it’s rationally possible to argue for both candidates. The mind hides unconscious racism by justifying its decision is based on a non-racial factor. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof suggests one of these non-racial factors could be “lack of experience.”
What if Barack Obama were white? Would his message of change have quite the same emphasis? Would he still be popularly labeled as a terrorist, an enemy to America? Would Americans’ confidence and comfort level in hiring him for the most important job of all be boosted?
We are the employers this time and it’s our job to make sure we compare resumes with clear judgment.
If that doesn’t slip you out of your subconscious mind’s grip, try constructing your political decision around race, and then think: Barack Obama is a bi-racial man.
When you remember he was raised by a single white mother and grew up with a grandmother afraid of the black men she met on the street, you’ll see the story of Barack Obama exposes race as the silly surface indicator it is — of both history and character, and of the potential of a presidential candidate.
Melissa can’t think too much about her subconscious without getting a headache. She can be reached at Melissa.silva@asu.edu.
