President Obama on Friday said it was “naive” to have thought a “post-racial America” would be revealed following his time in the Oval Office as the first black president.
“I think any talk of it being a post-racial America after my election was never realistic,” Obama told NBC reporter Lester Holt, adding that the hope was in line with the country’s pride in him for climbing to the highest office in the land in 2008.
“I think, in fact, that talk was not only naive, but I think created some problems down the road because two things happened. Number one, it meant that African-Americans and other minority groups might have felt as if the problems that have built up over centuries, a wealth gap, an education gap, you know, significant poverty, that those things could be addressed overnight.
“On the other hand, among, I think some, you know, white voters, who sincerely were glad to see that the country had made this breakthrough, there was also made an unrealistic notion that somehow, ‘Okay, that means discrimination’s over,'” Obama added.
The outgoing Democratic leader said there was a third group that “undoubtedly” did not want a black president.
“But in the same way that you wouldn’t expect in a four-year span or an eight-year span to undo the entire legacy of race in America, social attitudes also don’t transform in four years or eight years,” Obama said. “They – it happens over generations. And so sure, there is residual racial prejudice in this society.”
Obama does not believe the country is more racially divided today that it was in 2008 despite pushback from some who point toward police shootings and the Black Lives Matter movement as indicators there is more tension between Americans.
Holt posed the question about whether the first African-African commander in chief has struggled with, “Am I black enough? Too black. Am I not black?” Obama admitted he has considered it.
“I think every – everybody wrestles with the fact that we are Americans and we take great pride in this country that has given us so many blessings. And the fact that because of the color of our skin we are bound to a history that has often been cruel,” Obama said.
In his farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday, Obama said he is “even more optimistic” about the future of the country after his eight years of office than at the beginning of his two terms.
“Hopefully a generation that has been raised under my presidency will remember how I’ve talked about these [race] issues in a way that’s respectful of everybody,” Obama added.
