Race is no longer an issue. Is it?

It was a week where races of all kinds dominated the news.
It began with Britain celebrating a new Formula One world champion in the
form of Lewis Hamilton, who made heavy weather of securing that particular
crown, but is only a bit of a kid so we can excuse him that. I still didn’t
have my full driving licence when I was his age.
And by mid-week Barack Obama won the race for the White House, defeating
John McCain.
And it was these two seeming unconnected events that got me thinking about
the other question of race.
Obama will be the first Africa-American US President. A remarkable feat for
a country that 40-odd years ago still wouldn’t let black people travel on
the same bus or go to the same school as white people.
The country rightly congratulated itself on this achievement. But some on
both sides of the pond seemed to think that was it. Job done.

Similarly Hamilton is Formula One’s first black champion, and commentators
lined up to tell us how little is made “these days” of his ethnicity.
But that’s really the point, isn’t it?
Why did media organisations feel the need to wheel out people to tell us
that little is made of Lewis Hamilton’s ethnicity? If it is that irrelevant
do we need people to tell us it is irrelevant?
And while the election of Obama is hugely significant, it is certainly not
the end of the line. Only when we all stop talking about race altogether,
and start talking about the best man for the job, or the best driver in the
world, or what have you, will race no longer be an issue.
Hamilton, let’s not forget, was subjected to foul racist abuse at the
circuit where he claimed the F1 title. And, ho ho, who hasn’t heard the
“hilarious joke” about the White House having to be renamed?
And, if you want a prime example of why race is still an issue, let’s take
the journalist who took Hamilton’s triumphant return to his McClaren team’s
headquarters as an opportunity to ask the young driving ace what his opinion
on Obama’s win was. I didn’t see triple-Olympic Gold medallist Chris Hoy
being asked for his opinion.
Yes, let’s applaud these two men and recognise that there is every chance
they will inspire future generations of black youngsters.
But let’s also not pretend that race is not an issue anymore. It’s that kind
of ignorance that creates such problems in the first place.