When asked to assume the presidency of first Smith College and then Brown University, I hesitated in both instances. After all, I knew that becoming the first African-American president on each campus would inevitably mean confronting and overcoming a long history of skepticism about — or even objections to — having an African-American at the helm of such prominent institutions.
Nothing in my background made me uniquely suitable for appointment to these positions. Quite the contrary. Elite institutions often refer to the need for a proper “fit” when assessing candidates for positions. I sought assurances from the boards and search-committee chairs of both institutions that their campuses were truly ready for such a change. I worried that the novelty of the first African-American president would not be enough to overcome the longing for the “ideal fit” to which they had long subscribed.
In this special issue of The Chronicle Review, we turn our attention to the accomplishments and disappointments of the past eight years. See the whole issue here.
I sometimes wonder whether Barack Obama, as the first African-American president of the United States, anticipated the degree to which his identity would arouse fear, skepticism, and resistance. Following a long line of predecessors who set the expectations for any position, a “first” typically seeks to bring about change while, at the same time, proving that he or she is very much the equal of those who came before. For anyone previously barred from inclusion, how to strike out decisively in a new direction while respecting the past poses a conundrum. Moreover, what differentiates the experience of an African-American first like Barack Obama is the particularly tortured context of racial bias that plagues life in the United States. As long as the focus on race and the bias that it engenders endures, the firsts of different races will continue to be the most scrutinized achievers in society.
In that regard, the plight of Barack Obama as the first African-American president has been a textbook case. From the shockingly irrational and dishonest skepticism about his citizenship and religion to questions about his loyalty to America, he has been subjected to an array of attacks from overtly and sometimes dangerously hostile antagonists who refuse to accept the idea that someone of his background could be suitable as president.
In an especially perverse twist, some even complain that the country is more divided than ever under this interracial president, perhaps as a way of delegitimizing the value of difference. These critics would be hard pressed to prove that the cause of these divisions lies with Obama himself. In fact, Obama has, in many ways, brilliantly walked the fine line of racial division. For a country besotted with race, he has been neither too different nor too much the same to warrant the accusation that his actions have created divisions.
Obama’s mixed-race heritage could have easily satisfied those seeking an acceptable cardboard cut-out of the black man. But the president has overtly claimed his black heritage — a conscious and brave move. By choosing such a course and being willing to endure the ensuing antipathy, he has better prepared the country for a different norm and opened the way for presidencies from many different groups. He was a perfect “fit” to break the color barrier to the highest office in the land.
A first never ceases being a first, and the narrative of one’s life easily becomes consumed by this historical fact.
How Obama’s presidency will be seen by history is in some measure a function of how the country evolves in the coming years. As we await that assessment, the exceptional story that is Barack Obama the individual will, I believe, reverberate to his credit. A president who came to power in a turbulent time when race, class, religious, and cultural conflicts threatened to overwhelm so many parts of the world, he proved himself preternaturally disposed to be sober and analytical in dealing with crises and criticism.
In a role that has seen its share of deeply flawed individuals, he has displayed estimable intellect and character in the face of shockingly intemperate and disrespectful adversaries. When demeaned in blatant racial tones, he has remained restrained, sane, and articulate. Indeed, the world seems stymied by Obama’s apparent depth and complexity. Understanding Obama will occupy the efforts of biographers and political scientists for decades to come, but few will grasp fully the unique dilemma he has faced as president of a country with a history like ours. To apprehend more fully his experience, we will need to await his own account of the past eight years.
Obama need not have been a president like those before him; indeed, had he attempted that, he might have left a trail of disappointment across a world hoping for a different ideal of leadership. Faithfully following a path shaped not by public pressure but by his experience and understanding of the world, he has helped to create the means for others who do not fit a conventional mold to lead differently. In that regard alone, his presidency may prove to be one of the most beneficial in our country’s history.
Being the first can mean an expanded number of expectations and constituencies to please. Worrying about whether one is representing one’s heritage honorably while at the same time trying to live up to the highest standard of leadership can be an exhausting enterprise. The longing never stops for difference not to matter and for the opportunity to have the same leeway as leaders who have come before.
Obama’s life will change when he leaves office, but no doubt not to the extent he would prefer; the intense scrutiny to which he has been subjected will continue for the rest of his life. A first never ceases being a first, and the narrative of one’s life easily becomes consumed by this historical fact.
