Charles Johnson: on the meaning of Obama

All parts of the universe are interwoven with one another, and the bond is sacred. — Marcus Aurelius

In a recent e-mail, my Swedish cousin Dr. Anders Hemborg enthused about the election of President Barack Obama: “From the Swedish horizon we are very pleased with that choice. That is a great difference from [George Bush], who grew up in a state with one star on the flag in Texas to Obama, who knows that there are many stars all over he world." My cousin's words reflect an international sense of relief as President Obama departs from the preceding administration by recognizing that the U.S. is a part of an interdependent world. In his inaugural address, Obama stressed this sense of interconnection as our world shrinks:

[W]e know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

This sense of interconnectedness and transcultural values also informs the vision of Prof. Charles Johnson of the Department of English at the University of Washington. In a recent American Scholar essay, “The End of the Black American Narrative” (Summer 2008), Johnson called for a new black voice in fiction beyond slavery, victimization, and tribalism to a more inclusive story of the gains of blacks and away from the limiting “illusion” of race. He seeks to broaden views of African American identity and selfhood and move from a literature of complaint to one of celebration recognizing the “inescapable network of mutuality” of humanity described by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his 1963 “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.”

Johnson’s renowned fiction offers a striking blend of philosophy, myth, history, and his own Buddhist spiritual beliefs. His novels include the National Book Award-winning epic of the slave trade Middle Passage, a moving homage to Dr. King’s life in Dreamer, a picaresque adventure in Oxherding Tale, and the allegorical Faith and the Good Thing. He also wrote the story collections The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Dr. King’s Refrigerator, and Soulcatcher, and the acclaimed critical work Being and Race: Black Writing since 1970. Johnson is a MacArthur fellow and Pollock Endowed Professor for Excellence in English at UW. He is a national commentator on issues of race and culture, and also a screenwriter, a martial arts master, and an accomplished visual artist with two books of political cartoons.

Johnson recently spoke at his UW office about the election of President Obama and this sea-change moment in history.

Robin Lindley: How did you feel when the networks projected on November 4th that Obama would be the 44th president?

Dr. Charles Johnson: That day I wasn’t watching television that much. I thought we might not know until the next day who the winner was, but I was delightfully surprised that Obama wrapped it up early on Election Day. The electoral vote was overwhelming. It was something we’ve never seen in the history of this country.

RL: The New York Times called the election of Obama a ”national catharsis.”

CJ: There was a lot of celebration on election night. I got a video of celebrating at the Faire [Gallery Café, Seattle] and it was like a catharsis. People were very, very emotional [and] realized they had just participated in history, so there was a kind of catharsis in that. Now we can take this question off the table — whether a black person can become president of the most powerful country in the world.

RL: You’ve described Obama’s rise as evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

CJ: It speaks more to evolution in terms of the public attitude of the American people than Obama himself. He did not run as a challenging black candidate [but] on the promise of somebody who would bridge the divisions in American society. He doesn’t belong to the generation of Jesse Jackson and others.

So we have evolved in terms of our understanding that excellence is colorblind. We’ve watched Obama for two years, and he’s handled himself with grace and incredible civility toward his opponents. There are two examples. He met with all of the former presidents and a reporter asked if he met with them to learn from their mistakes. He said, “No. I met with them to learn from their successes.” Now, that’s a true gentleman. Earlier in the campaign, someone said, “Did you know, Governor Palin’s daughter, 17 years old, is pregnant? What do you think?” He said, “My mother had me when she was 18.” In other words, all the things people use divisively against an opponent, he didn’t do. I think people appreciate that he really does listen to the other side. He does try to heal. He isn’t trying to polarize [or] taking cheap shots.