Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Those Left Behind

Colleen Rowley

In the excitement of Barack Obama's extraordinary campaign, have we forgotten where we have come from and how many have been left behind? Has this all been a fanciful dream where we all live in an American utopia where racism no longer exists and all men really are created equal? Thinking back on our recent past, it is not hard to see the deep rooted issue of race in America very close behind us. In states like West Virginia where isolation has prohibited progress from taking it's course, where people have stayed on an island as the world evolved around it, racism has not slowly died away but rather allowed to live on in the minds of those still living in the past.

The hard truth about this election is that when November comes, race will play an role whether we like it or not. There are too many Americans who still live behind this wall of progress, too many who still allow racism to dictate their decisions even in matters which direct conflict with their personal well being and general best interests. Scarier still, if forty years of equal rights has not placed a dent in their irrational bigotry, it seems unlikely that reason and rational discussion during this election year will have an effect on their deepest felt prejudices.

This video shot in West Virginia shortly before the Primary Elections on May 13th, presented by The Real News, shows that many blue collar Democrats simply are not ready for a black president.