But, as much as Barack came out of nowhere for the country, he completely snuck up on black folks. We never saw this coming. I think that explains a lot of the bitterness. It's not like we've been waiting 30 years for this. A "black president" was the sort of thing you used as a punchline, or as like a cultural symbol of something. But we didn't really think about it as a literal reality. I would not have been surprised--or particularly upset--if I had died without their ever being a black president. But that's the trouble with expectations. I may be now.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2008/08/spike-lee-on-msnbc/5732/
