Rooting for the "Black Guy"

Papal Elections

Recently, a new pope was ceremoniously donned with the Catholic responsibility of father of the Orthodox Christian faith. But when some of my friends started talking about the candidates, the conversation didn’t hover around their credentials and did focus on one particular candidate- the Ghanaian Archbishop of the Cape Coast Peter Turkson. The possibility that another  black man could be in a great position of power traditionally reserved for White men encouraged jokes, praise, and comparisons to the U.S. president Barack Obama.

When Obama was initially inaugurated into the presidential office, there was a lot of questions and speculations on how he, a black man, was able to win the election? Was it his charming personality? His educational background? His promises? Or did a lot of minorities vote for him simply because he was black? I’m sure it was a combination of all of these things, but in the last two elections there has been an upsurge of minority voters. A lot of minorities, especially black people, voted for Obama without knowing about his political stances or promises. They simply voted for him because he was black. Of course, this sounds awful.  People should be well informed before forming opinions and making decisions that can effectively affect the way they live, like who their president is and what they stand for. But is rooting for the black guy that bad?

Black people have been oppressed for so long and have been excluded from positions of power. Should we not rejoice when someone who looks like us is finally entering into a world that was heavily guarded to keep us on the margins?  Seeing people that look like you in positions of power arouses hope that you can get there too. This is especially true for minorities who have little to no representation in the public eye.

Just to give you some background information on the current papal process and candidate, the new pope is Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina or his new name as pope Pope Francesco (Francis I). After a rare pope resignation by Pope Benedict XVI officially on February 28^th, 2013 (the last pope resignation was almost 600 years ago), the College of Cardinals gathered in a conclave to elect the new pope. There were a number of candidates, but Bergoglio was elected.  

Obviously, the "black guy" did not win. The age-old tradition of the pope being white was sustained, but something great has still happened before our eyes. Catholicism is one of the religions most heavily based on old world traditions, which generally means maintaining the status quo and upholding conservative ideals (e.g. anti-homosexuality, anti-abortion, anti-contraceptives). It is novel that they were even considering a black man to lead the Catholic Church. Also, Pope Francis I is the first pope from a Latin American country, Argentina. There is definitely still racism and obstacles to overcome, but there are subtle signs of progression.

So I say that even though the "black guy"  didn't win this time, let's not feel ashamed when he does. Let’s rejoice in the victories of our race and root for the black guy, because a few decades prior we wouldn’t even have had that option.