Is Gen-Y the First Post-Racial Generation?

The short answer: yes. For our generation more than anyone before it, race doesn't matter.

Unfortunately, though, racism DOES still exist, even among our generation. And for many minority Gen Yers, there's still some pain and history there, even if white Gen Yers on the whole don't necessarily "care" about race.

I'm a Gen Yer myself, and I would consider myself "post-racial," as you've so cleverly termed it. But when Barack won, I thought to myself, it's INCREDIBLE that we have a black man as president. I felt proud. I didn't vote for him because of his race – I voted on his message of change. But I still felt proud that America had finally taken one the last few giant steps beyond it's horrible past and elected a black man into the highest office.

I don't know – to me, it matters. It's certainly not ALL that matters. It's not even the most important thing. But in this election, it DID matter a little.

Thanks for the great article, Ryan!

- Chris

Hey Chris,

You're right, it is incredible that we have a black man as president. It shows just how far this country has come and it makes me proud to be a part of it. But to me, it had nothing to do with why I was voting for Obama. I voted for him because of his beliefs, his values, his charisma and everything else that drew people to him. Race was not a factor, nor should it ever be.

That being said, it is important to acknowledge how far we've come as a society, and that's what McCain and the pundits did.

Ryan

I think you're pretty much right about the 'almost' claim. We're definitely closer than ever.

I have nothing new or groundbreaking to add, and I agree with how Chris (above) replied. Watching an Obama victory from Canada was more about the change, BUT it was also about defeating the old, usual American (or North American, really) case of the rich white leader. Then when people talk in detail about the fact that it's a victory for race my reaction is, why'd you have to go there? – it just seems so old-school.

We're like how the internet isn't case-sensitive; we're not race-sensitive.

*woah, nerdy.

@Torbjorn, haha. I love the quote. And yes, very nerdy

I believe that the majority of Americans do not hold racial animosity, and I've never experienced racism in my 20 years in the U.S. But I believe Gen-Ys voted for Obama simply because of idealism. You've all commented how his message of "change" is/was great, but you fail to mention what it is you'd like to change about the greatest country on earth.

Obviously I did not vote for Obama, simply because his economic views are a complete 180 degrees out of phase with the unabashed capitalism and individualism that has always been at the core of American exceptionalism. His unequivocal support for the comfort of a mother over the unborn baby she wishes to kill was also a major turn off for me. His disregard for a strong military; and a missile defense shield that would protect us and our allies against nukes in the hands of terrorists who wish us harm.

It was never about race, it's just about principles.

How do you guys feel about the fact that most of the cabinet this far is made up of former Clinton staff? Is that the change you had in mind?

(sigh) I wish. I don't at all believe ours is the first post-racial generation. I do believe we were a part of something very special. We helped make history, but it was still about race for a significant part of the population.

We are almost there! BUT I do believe it's a conversation worth having and I'm thrilled you shared your thoughts and encouraged us to share ours.

Claude: " His unequivocal support for the comfort of a mother over the unborn baby she wishes to kill was also a major turn off for me. His disregard for a strong military; and a missile defense shield that would protect us and our allies against nukes in the hands of terrorists who wish us harm.".

…is exactly the type of other idealism i was cheering people to vote against. Terrorists? Missile defence? Who ARE you?

okay, and I retract my "who are you" part. but the rest still stands…

Well, yes. And no.

I'm with your thought process on much of this. Race in the grand scheme of things is not an issue to many of us in the general daily grind of life. Yet to not acknowledge race in this particular event would be to ignore it's great historical significance. And while yes, our generation is less sensitive to issues of race, we're not far removed from generations of those who are.

Another thought: Race won't ever "go away" from the conversation. Diversity and inclusion have never been about not acknowledging our differences, whatever they are. It's about celebrating and exploring them.

As a generation, I think part of the reason that we are so close to being post-racial is that we have so much diversity in our generation. I was talking to the school superintendent in my city recently and now the minority is now the majority in schools. Which is amazing for Madison. The feeling I had while watching the post-election media was that they just didn't get it.

I don't think Gen-Y is the first post-racial generation. I'm not sure if you're even almost the first post-racial generation. While there are schools in the deep south that still have segregated proms, while there are still unofficially well-defined neighborhoods according to race we are still in the midst of a racial culture.

I dream of the day when everyone is treated equally and everyone has equal opportunity no matter their race, gender, faith. I just don't think that we are there just yet.

No.

Not for African Americans, who are still struggling to achieve the relative ease that most of their European American counterparts move in the job market.

Not for Latin Americans, who are still struggling to achieve economic freedom while taking jobs that most won't do at wages most can't.

Not for most minorities, who cringe walking into the lunchroom, facing barrages of crude jokes from their peers, that in all honesty, seem genuinely funny… to someone who's not a minority.

Are we a post racial generation? No. But a lot of us have the luxury of thinking we do.

@benjamin: the answer to all the "struggles" you describe is education. Education is equally available to all, if someone doesn't take advantage of it, it's really their fault. And I don't hear anyone complaining about the cost of education, which keeps going up, regardless of the state of the economy.

I speak as a Latin American immigrant who has been able to prosper in America without handouts or special considerations. What are your credentials?

@Claude

Thanks, Claude. I love that response. I also applaud you for succeeding.
And I agree, education is the key. That's why I was a teacher in the inner school system. I continue to mentor some of the young men I taught, and met with one this weekend (he's now a Bio Pre-Med student).
I was part of a school that took the students doing the worst in the public system and gave them a private education. Why? Because the public system was awful. The schools barely sent a handful to trade schools; college was unheard of.
You're exactly right. There was no funding. The worst performing schools are not reformed, they just ignored.

But my main argument was not against the struggles. Minorities such as yourself have been extraordinarily resilient in order to achieve what they desire in this country. I'm not advocating for handouts or special considerations for you. You did fine without them. My point is that ignoring that the playing field is far from level is not ok. Just because you overcame the odds doesn't mean the odds can't be evened out a little.

"Is Generation Y the first truly post-racial generation?"
Hmmm . . . It's probably best to avoid sweeping generalities when discussing race.

I do think you have a point, Ryan, in that, perhaps, ours is a generation with a higher number of post-racial Americans than ever before.

But, it's easy to consider yourself post-racial if you are part of the majority and race has never been an issue – which is certainly the case for myself. I am sure it would not be difficult to find a few 20-somethings who have had vastly different experiences among their peers, be it in the community, school, or the job search (some who have already so eloquently posted here). Our progress is undeniable, but unfortunately, as long as the question has to be asked, we have yet to reach the summit.

Great thought (and comment) provoking post!

Hi all,

Thanks for all of the great comments.

Like I said over on Brazen, this is why I love blogging and discussing controversial topics with a great community of people. I can only talk from my experiences, and admittedly, my experiences are limited.

James Walker, a commenter over on Brazen said that maybe we aren't a post-racial generation, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing. The more I read and discuss this, the more I think James is right. Why do we need to be post-racial? We can all plainly see the color of each others skin, we may as well just accept it and celebrate it.

Again, thanks for the great convo, I hope it continues.

Ryan

"Our progress is undeniable, but unfortunately, as long as the question has to be asked, we have yet to reach the summit."
@Zack, you nailed it, I think.
@Ryan, thank you for bringing it up. I think most people are too cautious when it comes to discussing controversial topics, because they're afraid of the blacklash. I think this discussion is a perfect example of how we can talk about the ideas and learn some new things.

I think Gen Y, of which I am a member, is less race-sensitive than any generation preceding it. However, I fear that this election was very much about race. Zack touched on this: "it's easy to consider yourself post-racial if you are part of the majority and race has never been an issue" The fact that Hispanics and African Americans voted nearly 100% for PE Obama is at least some evidence that many minorites wanted to see a non-white president. It is wonderful that a Black man can become president given our past prejudice and discrimination. In that sense, his election is a testament to the greatness of America. Many of my friends simply wanted to "feel good about America again" and wanted desperately to be on the side of "Hope" and "Change". I still don't know what "Hope" and "Change" will mean in terms of policy and not one of my friends can tell me. We shall see. In that sense, this election was almost entirely about imagery and emotion. It is dangerous to become emotionally invested in a politician though. Obama will do some things "right" and some things "wrong". Will our generation be honest about that?

I fear that our generation has almost zero historical perspective. We're somewhat of a spoiled generation and we take so much for granted. "Hope" sounds nice and feels good, but lacks perspective. We're in the worst recession in a Century and we still have the highest standard of living in the world. Go live in N. Korea or Syria or some other tyrannical nation where you can be imprisoned, tortured, or killed by your government and the word Hope is more than a flowery word. By comparison, the "Hope" we voted for is an insult to reality.

Being an immigrant from the middle east in a post 9/11 America, I can assure you racism is strong here, and will be for years to come.
after all, profiling is a matter of national security…

I really don't feel like we live in a post-racial society yet. I am a white-skinned male from a poor inner city neighborhood and feel that despite so much progress, there is still an unbelievable amount of work to be done on all sides before race isn't as much of an issue. Obama is a great first step though

Ryan: Great question. I'm a century away from Millennials, but I've had an opportunity to coach a number of them(strange pronoun in this instance)..and have a 25 year old protege. He tells me more than I want to know and comparies his world to mine. So, I don't think the question is worth talking about with Millennials. It makes no sense to them…and it makes Millennials wonder what planet the rest of the world is living on.

However, it makes a lot of sense to talk about post-racial with other generations. Many haven't worked out the issues, often don't get it, are intimidated, frustrated or puzzled by the differences.

On occasion I share coffee or a meal with fifty, sixty and seventy-year olds. Most of them are pretty patient–after all, Millennials are their grandkids. But most don't get it. Facing up to Millennial ideas and expectations to many of the other generations is culture shock–like walking down the street and meeting a Martian.

So, yeah…talk about it to your elders. Take the opportunity to explain your world, and be patient with us. The cultural diffs are really profound.

I think maybe privileged Gen-Yers are post-racial, or at least they think they and they really want to be. They're often post-all the other "ists" too. But I think that mostly has to do with the fact that they've never experienced racism or sexism or classism, and neither have their friends or family from the same privileged background.

But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist in some other economic or cultural context.

Here in Canada, some of the dialogue surrounding Obama is about the fact that he's half white and was raised by the white side of his family. If he's the first black president, what does being or identifying as black or white (or any other racial/ethnic background) really mean?

I think Gen-Y has a lot of thinking to do about what race means now, especially since we are coming into the time of people like Obama, who are a combination of at least two different backgrounds, sometimes three or four. The lines are not neatly drawn anymore. I don't believe there should be lines, but there are for some people.

Just because the people in your circle may be post-racial doesn't mean the same exist across the board. My biggest issue with gen-y is the notion that everyone thinks like you do. I've heard enough racial slurs from gen-yers to know better than that.