Sunder Katwala (London, Fabian Society): What on earth is Trevor Phillips up to? Britain's most prominent black public figure has launched an attack on Barack Obama in this month's Prospect, reported prominently in The Independent today, accusing the leading Democrat of 'cynicism' which will hold back black Americans and hold back the politics of race.
Trevor is entitled to his view, and clearly he is rooting for a Hillary Clinton comeback. But, whatever happens, he ought to acknowledge the Obama achievement and its extraordinary resonance.
The worst part of his argument, especially since he heads the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is his implication that Obama is a less legitimate black leader because he isn't descended from slaves. What happened to opportunity for all? Trevor Phillips has been controversial because he has challenged and criticized the tendency of multiculturalism to stress differences and create inter-ethnic tensions. Why retreat to the old politics of race, and this discredited question about whether Obama is black enough, when black voters have made it pretty clear what they think?
Phillips doesn't really present much of an argument for the claim that Obama will set back the cause of post-racial politics. Yes, Obama is a politician. He isn't the new messiah. He has been out looking for votes, and stirring up hope. But if anybody can think of a less cynical political campaign in the last thirty years, I would be surprised.
We need a shift in the politics of race, as Sunny Hundal and the New Generation Network have argued. The challenge to race leaders is to remember that they should be trying to put themselves out of business. Trevor Phillips has wanted to champion that cause. It would be a great shame if, just as we got there, he decided that to see change, after all, as a threat.
This is a cropped version of Sunder's full article in Comment is Free.
