Race, Digital Media, and Obama

I found the reading on digital media and race within the context of
President Obama’s presidential campaign to be particularly interesting
since this election was such a momentous occasion for our generation.
This election was the first to be in the midst of the old versus new
media debate, and Everett focuses on how significant it was for Obama
to have utilized digital media as a means of mobilizing support for
his campaign amongst young people. She follows the “Internet as a
democratizing force” trajectory and says that digital media enabled
“youths of color” to be more politically active, for instance by
utilizing social networking to effect change in their communities
(148). In this regard she implies that digital technologies have made
politics accessible to most everyone regardless of background.

Everett also notes Obama’s “careful cultivation of a race-neutral or
transcendent political persona” and America’s desire to be
race-neutral, corresponding to her original question: “Have we become
postracial yet?”.  Parallel to the freedoms of the Internet, a society
in which race is not an issue is an ideal that would promote identity
free of preconceived notions.

However, we are still a great distance away from achieving these
milestones. Everett does acknowledge the digital divide within the
country. Accessibility to technology as well as interest in politics
is dependent on income, education, and culture, among others. Many
people do not have Internet access; others who do don’t necessarily
utilize it for political activism. At this point, it does not seem
like the conveniences of the digital age can be closely correlated
with minority political involvement. Obama’s role as a black man
running for president was ground for racial tensions and discussions
about it, despite any attempts at a race-neutral persona. The country
certainly looks to a time when society can be postracial, but that
time likely will not come for many more years.

Cindy H