African American and Obama Essay

In â€Å"A More Perfect Union’†, a speech given by Barack Obama, there are multiple issues addressed, with race being the biggest of them all. In Obama’s speech, his main focus is the issue of racism, and he touches on the examples of racism today and how we should cope with these problems. Obama uses various tones and experiences in both his life and the lives of others as well, to portray his thoughts on the subject. Obviously in a speech about racism given by an African American man, there are going to be mixed responses portrayed by the audience, and I think those mixed reactions are exactly what was occurring in the audience. As being part of that audience, I think Obama did an exceptional job of showing how racism is still present today, not only towards African Americans, but every other race as well. In â€Å"A More Perfect Union†, Obama not only talks about the conventional types of racism consisting of whites and blacks, but also that of all the other ethnicities we have in this country. As a result of doing this Obama presents all these issues fairly and unbiased, without concentrating too much on which form of racism applies to him the most, which would be racism towards African Americans. He makes a case that there is also racism towards Caucasian Americans, which is not usually thought of when dealing with prejudice amongst groups of ethnicities. By doing this, Obama really shows that he is presenting his concerns equally, and is no way biased towards a certain group or race in his speech. Obama talks about different types of experiences of racism in his life that many other young African American men and woman might have also experienced. And since he has such a rich cultural family, with many different ethnicities, he makes his life relatable to almost every race in America. The points he uses in his speech are both realistic and appropriate towards the audience that he is addressing, which are the voters of America. Obama had a very valid point which I think intrigued many people, when he spoke of his family situation. He explained his family background and all the different ethnicities that were intertwined within his family tree, including his white grandmother. Just like any other grandson, he loved his grandmother and she loved him no matter what her views on racism were. By presenting this background Obama made it clear that race was no boundary when it came to family life, so why could this not be the case between associates in every day life. I think this story of his grandmother is one of the most vital points in the speech. Most everyone in the audience can relate because mostly everyone in the audience would probably of had a grandmother that they loved as Obama did. Out of everyone in the audience who had a grandmother, I would almost guarantee they would love the same even if they were a different color or race, which is the point Obama is trying to make here. While Obama was giving this speech he had a very distinct tone, which I think was made known to everyone who had heard it. Listening to the speech, I couldn’t help but think of his tone as sad and disappointed. Also I think it was clear that Obama was very disappointed when it came to his feelings regarding his very own Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and rightly so. When talking about active racism going on in a country like America today, there should be no feelings other than disgust and disappointment. I believe that it didn’t take long for the audience to pick up on Obama’s tone for the speech, and henceforth this tone set the stage for the rest of the speech. Obama used his tone to his advantage when speaking and, really helped him make a more emotional speech when talking to his audience. Obama used various different tones and examples when giving his speech to the American people. The reason he did this, was to try to connect with all the different types of audiences he was addressing. Obviously he was addressing the American people, but there are many sub groups within the American people. Obama made sure to speak of racism toward African Americans, as well as other ethnicities, including Caucasian, to eliminate any bias there was when giving the speech as an African American male. Doing this was very important when giving this speech, because if all the different different audiences weren’t addressed, it would automatically be assumed that this African American man, was speaking towards his race only, and therefore isn’t taking into account the rest of the American people. If the audience would of reacted to this speech, I would assume they would think that Obama is not only an unfit candidate for president, but a morally challenged American as well. Obama’s â€Å"A More Perfect Union Speech†, was not just a speech, but a message to all of the American people that we will not succumb to racism today, as we had in the past. By addressing America in this way, I think he gained a lot of respect from people that otherwise wouldn’t have even considered voting for him in his presidential campaign. In his speech he brings up many concerns that we had as a country, and I think that he addressed those concerns as well as anybody could of. Obama presented a lot of valid points, and showed to America that he had many insightful experiences that qualified him to be a successful leader in a country such as the United States. â€Å"A More Perfect Union†, really set the stage for the new movement against racism, by giving this speech Obama changed the view of many Americans’ on the subject of racism, and I think that is exactly what Americans needed to realize.