A More Perfect Union: Race and Unity
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Issues of race are so sensitive because of the history of race in America. As Obama points out, race was an issue that “divided the colonies”—it was the “original sin of slavery” for America (1411). Some of the people who settled America had among them a racist ideology that allowed them to view blacks as inferior. They wanted to protect their power structure and way of life and that meant allowing slavery to continue. Race served as the pretext for this power grab. They pointed to racial superiority as their reason for being able to hold slaves. Even today people hold this racial view, which is why it is still such a sensitive issue: the nation is still divided.
Obama’s speech is a message of unity because throughout, he notes that he has brothers and sisters of all races—“of every race and every hue” (1412) he says; he states that his story is the American story, that his presidency could only have been made possible in America, where the worst crimes have been committed but where freedom and equality have also been pursued, albeit imperfectly at times....
Works Cited
Obama, Barack. “A More Perfect Union.”
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