On Inauguration Day 2009 when Barack Obama would take the Oath of Office, the school where I was a teacher had staff development. We attended morning meetings to psyche up for the spring semester. Then late morning we were instructed to gather in the cafeteria. We were treated to hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans and ice cream as a big TV was rolled in. We watched together a historic moment in our nation. An African American was going to be President, and we along with millions of Americans across the country and billions of people around the world were granted the opportunity to watch the entire televised process. Aretha Franklin sang “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” outdoors in what was obviously bitter cold weather. Later Obama, so youthful, confident and determined, presented his Inaugural speech, one that assured he was the President of every American.
We teachers chatted throughout the inauguration ceremonies, paying attention to certain highlights. As I was still kind of new to the teaching profession or working within a multicultural staff, I was indeed surprised our required staff development day would be spent watching the inauguration. Then again, it was a historic moment, and we were educators. In the schools where I’ve taught, often I was the minority, certainly so in every classroom of students. This school was perhaps an equal mix of faculty spanning the races, colors, ethnicities and cultures of America Herself. Prior to the election, I kept to myself about whom I supported for President: Obama or Republican John McCain. I was surprised to hear some of my colleagues, all who were not white, project (and correctly so) that Obama would win. No, I responded back with a certain sense of assured disdain: “I know my people.” To make clear, I noted my support for Obama, but I wrestled with the timing: “I know I will live to see the first black president, maybe when I’m 60, hopefully not 80, but not now. It would be a dream come true though.” My fellow Americans, dreams come true.
I remained in the cafeteria until after Obama took the oath, noting his hand on a Bible—because that had been part of the backlash against him, a rumor he didn’t place his hand on a Bible when sworn as U.S. Senator. The anger against Obama as he dared run for U.S. President—and all the spiteful vitriol, never spoken by McCain himself—was palatable and frightening that election year 2008. I figured it was just angry whites, as I know my people: the very idea, the audacity, of a black man thinking he could be President. I know the thoughts, the words, the feelings, the expectations and stereotypes against blacks. I also know or learned how to put those Old South prejudices out of my thoughts. I worked within a diverse culture. Doesn’t everyone? Maybe not. The schools, after all, were first to be integrated, forcefully by the federal government … before my time.
I’m not sure if memory serves correctly after we all watched President Obama’s swearing in, but I think teachers soon returned to their classrooms. I noticed the ones leaving were for the most part white. They were quiet during the ceremonies; perhaps some supported Obama as President. Then there were some of us white folks who were ecstatic over what had happened, the new era we thought we had been a part of creating. The African American colleagues were much more jubilant, streaming tears of joy, laughing wholeheartedly as if all their burdens had been rolled away. I recall the TV camera panning the very lucky Americans who got to witness the Inauguration in person—then in the crowd, the image of Oprah Winfrey, smiling softly. She’d never appeared so serene. She had a lot to do with Obama gaining national attention, popularity, and ultimately elected.
Eight years later
During the two terms of President Obama, our nation became obnoxiously divided, loudly hateful in words and manner never witnessed during all the white presidencies. It might have been egged on by social media and free speech run amuck. Elected Republicans in Washington, D.C., were NOT going to support any proposal from Obama. No. No!! They were unwilling to work with the executive branch of our government. This is not how our government works. Like it or not, our democratic republic works by compromise. Yes, it does. Does so.
The 8-year federal legislative stalemate was job Number 1, its intention: To make sure Obama would be a one-term president. But he wasn’t. So the vitriol against him and all Democrats escalated, and the heated anger and nonsense turned up to boiling: half the country thinking Obama was the worst president ever, my half thinking he may have been the best president of our lifetime.
As I continued teaching, moving to another school and then another, I was surprised to find by the 2016 election I was in the minority, ethnically yes but this time oddly enough politically. If politics came up, I found most of my colleagues, well the white and Hispanic ones, were Republicans: gun loving, no social programs, no more immigrants, English language only, pro-life, pro military spending, Christian only and of course lower-my-taxes conservatives. In short, they were pro-Trump, one after another of my colleagues, down to one or two who still shared democratic ideology. African American teachers continued to display a poster of Obama, as he was the current U.S. President. But compared to the national optimism of Inauguration 2008 at the other school, the times had darkened. All along, I only taught in impoverished neighborhoods with a lot of immigrants in communities where English is not the dominant language. I learned white people either develop empathy or they don’t.
When everyone returned for the 2016-17 school year, all district faculty and staff had to sign a legal form stating we would not talk politics or openly support either presidential candidate, Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton. We also had to watch two short ‘election’ videos, pass assessments and print our certificates.
Wow.
The thrown-together in-house videos demonstrated inappropriate behavior and chitchat between colleagues in the faculty lounge or school hallways. The point being, for the first time in a presidential election year in which I was a teacher, a district policy was mandated to prevent, prohibit and restrict talk among colleagues about the highly controversial Trump/Clinton presidential election. It had come to that. I wondered if any other businesses or corporations were taking such strict measures, making employees sign contracts to abide by a no-talk policy on political opinions including wearing campaign buttons, hanging political posters or maybe donning Trump or Clinton bumper stickers along with other election cycle no-no’s such as using school copy machines for campaign flyers or superiors insisting everyone vote for a certain candidate or support a ballot issue.
Wow.
With every new restrictive employee policy, the issue is about lawsuits. To avoid potential arguments, fights or intimidation, the school district took this drastic measure, a pre-emptive strike, a gag order, figuratively taping our mouths shut at least during school hours. The district brass could see the 2016 presidential election was one rotten hot potato, the most divisive in our nation’s history with the most polarizing candidates. Both Trump and Hillary Clinton were somehow popular and hated at the same time. How bizarre.
Now we’re in the 2020 Presidential election with the Democrat candidate still unknown and the President remaining wildly popular and intensely revolting depending on who you listen to. Wonder if the presidential election no-speak policy will spread nationwide to all businesses? Has America become that kind of country? If so, we’re no better than those fascist countries around the world, the ones where elections are all show and all fake, where free speech—and governing philosophy is the point of free speech—is suppressed. We’re seeing that political suppression doesn’t start with a leader’s mandate but with the people’s fear … in this case of losing their jobs.