Do blacks truly want to transcend race?
Jesse Washington Five little words — “I forgot he was black” — have caused a furor in the United States and exposed a contradiction in the idea that it has become a post-racial nation since electing its first black president last year. The comment came from television host Chris Matthews after President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech last Wednesday. “He is post-racial, by all appearances,” the liberal host of MSNBC said on the air. “I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. You know, he’s gone a long way to become a leader of this country, and past so much history, in just a year or two. I mean, it’s something we don’t even think about.” The staunch Obama supporter meant it as praise, but it caused a rapid furor, with many calling the quote a troubling sign that blackness is viewed — perhaps unconsciously — as a handicap that still needs to be overcome. Apparently, Matthews forgot to ask black people if they WANT to be de-raced. “As a black American I want people to remember
