“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.”

— Barack Obama,
2004 Democratic National Convention

Who divided America? Back in November, 2008, the nation elected its first Black president, and many said it ushered in a new, improved “post-racial” America. Spurred by the “Obama Coalition,” which included a diverse group of voters, Obama won both the Electoral College and the popular vote on a campaign built on hope. The future of America seemed bright and “hopeful.”

However, in a most unexpected turn, something that lay dormant began to show its hateful face. While Obama’s election brought hope, it also created resistance. Every election leaves many unsatisfied due to differing opinions and policies. We all feel a certain way when our candidate doesn’t win. But for some, Obama’s election stirred something different in them.

Here was a man, who, by all accounts, embodied the “American Dream.” Barack Obama’s election gave America a chance to right its wrongs and finally rise like a phoenix from the ashes of discontent. But something else arose, namely (1) the Tea Party movement, a right-wing, politically conservative group created to oppose Obama’s policies, and (2) the Birther Movement, which was fueled by Donald Trump, the now two-term president, to delegitimize Obama’s presidency by claiming he was not a U.S. citizen. And while the Birther Movement was repeatedly debunked, it only added fuel to those who simply could not accept — or believe — a Black man was now the president.

These false citizenship claims, along with other racially and politically charged rhetoric, then began to coincide with a number of high-profile police killings during Obama’s tenure, including Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. (2014), Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Md. (2015), Eric Garner in New York City (2014), Philando Castile in Minnesota (2016), and the murder of Trayvon Martin in Florida (2012).

These tragic instances served as an opportunity for a closer examination of law enforcement practices and racial justice. A major result of these tragedies was widespread protests, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and an intentional, renewed focus on racial justice from the Obama administration.

How dare they?

Perhaps it was not the “Audacity of Hope,” the title of Obama’s book and his belief that we should dare to believe the country could be better, but for some, perhaps, it was the audacity of a Black man to question the status quo and challenge oppressive systems through accountability. So, was it the message or the messenger? Would America have accepted the call to do better if Obama had not been African American?

In a 2017 article titled “Obama’s Legacy Is a Weaker and More Divided America,” Hans A. Von Spakovsky, former Election Law Reform Initiative Manager, echoed the sentiments of many who blamed Obama for the racial divide, as if this country hasn’t always been racially divided. He noted that Obama focused too much on identity politics, an ideology that centers on political and social movements in which race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and social class are the catalysts for change rather than on political party platforms — movements that actually seek to address issues of discrimination, equal rights, and dominant power structures.

Supporters of Obama argued that his positions amplified marginalized voices and exposed America’s inequalities. Others said he intentionally sought to create social and racial division by making White Americans feel guilty for the “sins of their fathers.”

Ready or not

Other critics of Obama felt he may have naively believed that America was finally ready for change. Obama, a constitutional scholar, believed in the principles of the U.S. Constitution, a document created by men, many of whom owned slaves, and which was never truly meant to represent African Americans, except for the 3/5 designation inserted for political reasons.

Maybe it wasn’t naïveté on Obama’s part; perhaps he only wished for the same thing that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wished for and articulated in his now-famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop Speech.” In this speech, which would be his last (MLK was assassinated the next day), he implored America to uphold its Constitutional promises to all citizens and said, “All we say to America is ‘Be true to what you said on paper.’ ”

With the election of Obama, many hoped these promises would no longer be false. But the hate in America never went away. It lay dormant, waiting for the moment to erupt again. Ironically, it erupted during America’s finest hour. But this was a new iteration of hate. It was no longer just hate based on ignorance. It was hate rooted in fear that, with the election of a Black president, the way of life of many would be taken away.

But what of this hate? Let us go back to 1959 and the television documentary “The Hate that Hate Produced.” The five-part documentary hosted by Mike Wallace highlights the rise of Black militant groups, including the Nation of Islam.

The documentary’s title was based on the idea that the new “hate” preached by Black militant groups was a reaction to — and a product of — centuries of the old “hate,” namely white racism, oppression, and violence endured by African Americans. In other words, a new hate, rooted in an old hate. A hate that hate produced. Notably, this documentary was the first time Malcolm X was introduced to mainstream America.

New reality

So, Obama gets blamed for a new racial divide, which is a result of the old one. In other words, is he responsible for the hate that hate created? It doesn’t make sense to me. However, as in the documentary, apparently fewer people cared about the old hatred until those who were its victims decided to fight back. Then it became a problem. And just as in 1959 and with Obama, it became easier to blame the victims than to accept responsibility and acknowledge that wrongs were done.

Accountability is a powerful notion. But if we are being honest, despite the hopes of Obama and the millions who voted for him, there is no post-racial America, and there never will be without accountability. So, because of the hate that hate made, perhaps, “There will always be a liberal America and a conservative America. There will always be a Black America, a White America, a Latino America, and an Asian America.”

And perhaps there will always be hate and the hate it creates. Is that what the United States of America, in all its complicated, contradictory, and non-post-racial existence, will always be: An incubator for hate?

Time will tell.