|Jortlattò (Dbseruer
lune 24. 2009
PageA9
Women Seeking a Man like Obama
President seen as ‘Ideal Black Man’
(AP) - M onica Weeks has met
many men, but at age 51 she says she
still hasn't found her "Barack."
Among Weeks and her friends,
President Barack Obama's name has
become shorthand for a black man
with integrity, character and spiritu
ality, one who loves and values his
wife and makes his family a priority
— in other words, the kind of man
that many black women had despaired
of finding.
Weeks said probably every single
woman she knows is looking for her
"Barack."
"He absolutely makes me think it's
attainable," said Weeks, a divorced
mom in Somerset, N.J. "For women
who are older and seeking a man, 1
think we can look at him and say, 'All
is not lost."'
The story is the same elsewhere
among black women, who say the new
code word for Prince Charming has
become so commonplace that they
have been asked "Have you found
your Barack?" or told others "I'm look
ing for my Barack."
Obama's sex appeal hasn't hurt —
what other president would get high
marks in a swimsuit competition? But
he has touched a nerve among black
women in particular, who consider him
an IBM (Ideal Black Man) — edu
cated, eloquent, tall, attractive, fam
ily oriented, ambitious and down to
earth.
For years, single black women have
been commiserating about the per
ceived shortage of eligible black men.
It's laughed about in movies ("Wait
ing to Exhale") and backed up with
statistics: The May unemployment
rate for black men was 16.8 percent
for those ages 20 and older, compared
to a national rate of 9.8 percent for all
adult men. Black women outnumber
black men almost 2-to-l on college
cam puses. M ost black babies are
bom to unwed mothers.
"There are a large number of Afri
can-A m erican w om en who have
largely given up on finding a mate,"
said Sheri Parks, associate professor
Obama has touched a nerve among black women in particular, who
consider him an IBM (Ideal Black Man) — educated, eloquent, tall,
attractive, family oriented, ambitious and down to earth.
of American studies at the University
o f M aryland. "Their men are not
there."
Renee Breeden didn't have much
hope she would find a life partner af
ter dealing with what she called "ex
tremely selfish" black men. At one
point, the 35-year-old divorced mom
had stopped dating black men alto
gether.
But watching the Obamas has re
newed her faith that she can have a
loving relationship with a black man.
"There's no denying the love be
tween them, and it made me feel like
'Wow, there's still hope for me,'" said
Breeden, an administrative assistant
and online radio talk show host in
New York. "There is still someone
who is going look at me and see my
value."
It's Obama's relationship with first
lady Michelle Obama that makes him
especially appealing.
For black women, it's significant
that Obama has a black wife and val
ues her education and professional
aspirations. Black men are more likely
to marry outside of their race than
black women, according to the U.S.
Census.
To be sure, there are plenty of fa
mous, attractive black men to dream
about, but people don't know as much
about Denzel Washington's relation
ship with his wife, for example.
These days, there's little people
don't know about the Obamas, said
Marc Lamont Hill, associate profes
sor of education at Columbia Univer
sity. The first couple's relationship has
been on public display with romantic
date nights and charming interview
banter.
"Having access to that much of a
person endears you to that person,"
he said.
Multiracial is America’s Fastest Growing Group
cializes in fam ily, race and
ethnicity.
"I don't think we've nearly
tapped the potential. Millions
are yet to come out," she said.
In M iddletown, N.J., Kayci
Baldwin, 17, said she rem em
bers how her black father and
w hite m other often worried
whether she would fit in with
the other kids. W hile she at
first struggled with her iden
tity, B aldw in now actively
em braces it, sponsoring sup
port groups and a nationwide
multiracial teen club.
"I went to my high school
Challenging
notions of race
(AP) - Multiracial Americans
have become the fastest grow
ing demographic group, wield
ing an im p act on m in o rity
growth that challenges tradi
tional notions of race.
The number o f multiracial
people rose 3.4 percent last year
to about 5.2 million, according
to the latest census estimates.
First given the option in 2000,
A m ericans who check more
than one box for race on cen
sus surveys have jumped by 33
percent and now make up 5 per
cent of the minority population
— with millions more believed
to be uncounted.
Demographers attributed the
recent population grow th to
more social acceptance and
slowing immigration. They cited
in particular the high public pro
files of Tiger Woods and Presi
dent Barack Obama, a self-de
scribed "mutt," who are having
an effect on those who might
self-identify as multiracial.
"M u ltiracial u nions have
been happening for a very long
time, but we are only now really
coming to terms with saying it's
O K ,” said Carolyn Liebler, a
sociology professor at the Uni
versity of Minnesota who spe-
For the parents o f multiracial children, Barack
Obama's rise has been a vindication of
sorts, a presidential rebuttal to a society that
has not always been kind to their offspring,
labeling them half-breeds, mutts, mixed nuts
and other derogatory names.
25 Years of Experience
Aggressively representing
individuals with legal
problems in criminal
allegations & employ
ment discrimination
Low Cost
Promoting Sustainable Living
Local teacher
studies in
Costa Rica
Jesuit High School m ath
em atics and science teacher
Jennifer Coumia departed on a
nine day research and environ
mental expedition last week to
Coope Tarrazu, a farming coop
erative located in the small town
of San Marcos de Tarrazu in
Costa Rica.
The expedition is part o f
Earthwatch Institute's research
on many different coffee farms.
"As a teacher, I am particu
larly interested in the relation
ship betw een environm ental
sustainability and cultures and
people," said Coumia. "The re
search on this project will not
only improve the treatment of
the land on which coffee is
grown in Terrazu, but will also
help local farmers better under
stand the environm ental im
p a c ts o f th e ir a c tio n s and
achieve higher quality coffee
and higher yield crops, result
ing in greater incomes."
The goal of the project is to
understand the practices that
lead to more sustainable pro
duction of coffee and result in
higher quality and yield.
Coumia intends to take the
prom last week with my date
who is Ecuadoran-Nigerian, a
friend who is Chinese-white and
another friend who is part Do
minican," she said. "While we
are a group that was previously
ignored in many ways, we now
have an opportunity to fully
id e n tify and exp ress o u r
selves."
Demographers say that while
some multiracial Americans may
feel burdened or isolated by
their identity, others quickly
learn to navigate it and can
flourish from their access to
more racial networks.
lessons she learns in the coffee
fields back to the classroom this
fall. "Taking a trip like this
comes with great responsibil
ity: very few of my students will
have such an experience, so I
will try to absorb all the infor
mation and insight I can from
the coffee farmers and research
ers so that we can have an edu
cated discussion about sus
tainable land management in
class next year," said Coumia.
Jennifer
Coumia
Vector Control seeks
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