Welcome to Black After Obama, the forum section’s weekly column for the semester. Black After Obama is a space for black students to talk about what it’s like, and what it means to be black in the United States, after electing President Barack Obama. The fact that the people of this country elected a black president shows that we are on our way to becoming an anti-racist society. We cannot, however, conflate claiming that we are an anti-racist society with our having elected a black president. Thinking that our actions are never subsequently racist, even when we do not intend for them to be, is shortsighted and dangerous because it stagnates dialogue about the roles that race and racism play in our communities today.

Having intentional dialogues about race, and hearing from students of color as much as we hear from white students about these issues combats the complacency that comes with the mentality that we are an entirely non-racist/anti-racist community. These dialogues can help make us all more aware of what we can do to become more of an anti-racist community that is truly committed to upholding this institution’s core value of diversity.

There is diversity within diverse populations. One black student’s voice is not every black student’s voice. Therefore, any black student that wants to write for this column, should.

Black After Obama is not the only part of the paper that black students are encouraged to write for. All students, regardless of race, are encouraged to write for all sections of the paper. Black After Obama is a space that black students should know is there for them if they want to have their voices heard when talking about race and how race affects our community and this institution.

The Guilfordian has historically had a low number of black students on staff, and too few black voices have been represented in print. Black After Obama is an important step towards improving our substantive commitment to being an anti-racist news organization.