This Might Get Uncomfortable...

I've been paying more attention to TV and radio lately. Probably because of the election and all the drama surrounding it. I stayed home yesterday to take in the inauguration of our first African American President. I thought it was great - the spectacle, the drama, the "peaceful transition of power". Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to have been born where we were. With all our problems and issues, I am not sure I could live anywhere else. However, we do have our issues, right? One of them being race. I live in Philly, a city that's over 60% African American. I live in a mostly white, mostly upper class neighborhood, but just a few blocks away (actually, like a block) is a mostly black neighborhood. Surrounding my school are mostly black neighborhoods. Obviously, Philly is a mostly black city surrounded by richer, more white neighborhoods. We most likely have more "ethnic" advertisments and TV shows on our local networks - for example, there are always McDonald's commercials starring an African American athlete (that is a "safe" stereotype, right?) or a young Latina soccer player. TV shows like Tyler Perry's House of Payne that comes on after the news or your token Indian dude on House. I know that minority stereotypes are slowly (very slowly, to me) being shattered, but I recently realized that since the election of Obama (and perhaps before that), I have noticed a marked increase in the number of ethnic minorities on TV. For example, there's a Crest commerical out there starring an African American female dentist, talking about the benefits of healthy teeth. She is commenting to another African American consumer woman. Woah! Two stereotypes down! Way to go, Crest! It's true, African Americans can be doctors and doctors can be women. It seems minority news reporters are on the rise too. Yesterday, the anchors were interviewing each other, asking Lester Holt what this inauguration means to him. Having our local TV reporter, Kristen Welker down at the Inaugural Balls. I think it's cool but I guess I also think it's so obvious.
Why is it now that we decide to emphasize how tolerant we are? Why does it take the unbelievable election of a black man to the presidency for kids to realize they can go anywhere and do anything? I know these may seem counterintuitive, and don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy with the exposure and emphasis on minorities. I think it's long overdue. And if Obama can encourage us to be more tolerant and to embrace our similarities rather than our differences, I am all for it.
I just worry that everyone will jump on the bandwagon to be "cool" but progress won't be made. I guess I'll just have to wait and see...