Chapter III Verse VI - That looks like someone I know

With the world watching a black man compete for one of the most powerful positions on the planet I think it's a great time to think about how important it is that your leader look the way you do.

Seeing Barack Obama in the United States presidential race is for me, amazing. A black president was something I was hoping my children would see, maybe. Now it is closer than ever and I'm overjoyed to have witnessed this much even if I fear for Mr. Obama's personal safety.

One of the things that makes me feel that people in The Bahamas (and the Caribbean in general) have an advantage over black people in America is the fact that our leaders look like we do. As a child I believed I could grow up to be Prime Minister or a Supreme Court Justice or Chief of Police. I would just have to work hard (I did not know much about politics obviously).

But for a black American child it must be hard identifying with the people in charge. So many of the people who shape society in America look like they live on a different planet from the people whose lives they influence. They dress different, sound different, smell different, walk talk and act, different. I would imagine this makes it easy to dislike authority and see it as something outside of yourself.

On a more balanced note, here we are in the Bahamas. We have dark leaders, bright leaders, male and female leaders. Boys and girls can dream of being anything they want to be no matter what economic or racial category they fall into. I'll be happier when we have had a female Prime Minister but we are doing better than a lot of nations. As deep as life is, sometimes it's just as simple as "If they can do it, so can I".

So I want Obama to win just because he is black. The fact is that if nothing else his victory will make it easier for another black person to do it. It will make black people all over the world feel proud. If he is president, no matter what he does or what mistakes he makes he will be remembered as the first black president of America. The sooner we get that out of the way the better.

I do wonder how much difference the race and gender of our leaders makes in our Bahamaland. Do we treat people better if they look like us? I'm not sure. I don't expect our PM to solve the world's racial problems unless his last name ends in Buddha, Christ or Selassie I. But I do think they could do more to improve our self image and self awareness.

The movers and shakers in the media, religion and politics often stay far from controversial topics such as racism, gender inequality and economic oppression, leaving us to our own interpretations. The ones that do have a lot to say are often misinformed or uninformed. And then there are those who use popular emotional issues as a chance to further their own agenda.

But these gripes are true of many leaders. The fact is that we live in a world that treats us differently based on our colour. It is often a war for resources. In the heat of the battle it makes me feel better to know that the person in charge looks enough like me to be fighting for some of the same things. I hope that my black American brothers and sisters will get the chance to see what this feels like sooner rather than later.

- Dsus Pays