Cabot Hosts Obama Debate in Quad

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s death, six student leaders came together to discuss the intersection of race and politcs.

After Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s March 18 speech on race in America, three Cabot House resident tutors decided to organize a discussion in response.

“Barack Obama’s speech really opened up a space for conversations like these to happen,” said Monique-Adelle Callahan, a Cabot resident tutor. “We had to take advantage of the momentum it produced.”

While all panelists acknowledged the great importance of Obama’s speech, their reactions went beyond mere praise.

One main concern—primarily voiced by Vice President of the Harvard Democrats Indira Phukan ’09—was that Obama’s speech focused on white and black Americans to the exclusion of other minorities.

“He needs to speak to other experiences as well,” she said.

Other panelists believed this issue was not problematic given the context of Obama’s speech—coming on the heels of comments by his minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, which many deemed inflammatory and anti-American. In light of the Wright controversy, some panelists said they believed Obama simply focused on racial categories he knew personally.

The discussion later moved from Obama’s speech to the nature of race in America today. One of the biggest questions on the floor was: how can the United States resolve modern racial inequality?

“Some attempts to repair injustices build up white resentment,” said Phukan. “It’s a cyclical thing, and the question is how to break out of the cycle.”

Panelist Aaron T. Frazier ’10, a judge in the Harvard Model Congress, proposed the idea that removing programs such as affirmative action would diminish white resentment of African Americans—resentment that he said contributes to discrimination.

An audience member, Raul A. Campillo ’09, offered an alternate approach during a post-panel discussion: that the government issue a formal acknowledgement and apology for its wrongdoings against minorities.

Campillo’s proposal met with opposition from Anjelica M. Kelly ’09, president of the Association of Black Harvard Women.

“The problems will continue to be perpetuated no matter how many times the U.S. government says ‘we’re sorry,’” she said.

Jin-Ji Kim ’10, another audience member, disagreed.

“People underestimate the symbolic aspect [of an apology]. You might say it’s all abstract and won’t do anything, but at the bottom of people’s hearts, it still rings true and can lead to more unity,” he said.

Drawing on Obama’s speech, panelist Kareemah L. Sabur ’09, the community outreach director for Harvard Admissions Scholars, proposed that the solution to racial tension lies in making the black struggle part of the American struggle.

“Suddenly, me helping you out is not me losing, but helping the nation,” she said, “That’s how it should be framed.”

—Staff writer Rachel A. Stark can be reached at rstark@fas.harvard.edu.