Gran Torino and the Obama Factor

On January 14, I did a post about Gran Torino. I encouraged thinking of Gran Torino as a workplace instead of a movie. I asked whether the post-race America of which President-elect Obama is a symbol would be strong enough to handle a workplace where employees learn to respect co-workers of different races and ethnicities the way GT’s Walt Kowalski learned to respect his Asian neighbors – to the point of calling each other names, in a good-natured way.

An article in the New York Times says maybe. According to the Times, the election of Barack Obama is making it easier for whites and blacks to have meaningful discussions about race. In the past, such discussions have been difficult or deferred. Psychologists even have a name for this hesitation: “interracial anxiety.”

Since Obama’s election, there’s evidence that whites and blacks are talking and are optimistic that there’s a solution to black-white racial problems. Skeptics say whites are having an easier time talking now because Obama is a star, and they really don’t look at him as being black. (Of course, he is half white.) They believe that once the Obama factor fades, whites will return to another condition psychologists call “strategic colorblindness.” This malady makes whites so uncomfortable talking with blacks about race that they just don’t do it.

I’ve said all along that this election provides employers with a unique opportunity to engage their employees in a wholesome discussion about race. Such a discussion needs to be handled thoughtfully, but this appears to be the perfect time for it. A continuing discussion can lead to lasting changes in workplace race relations.

As to whether a Walt Kowalski and his black counterpart can fully participate in this discussion, well, that may take more than the Obama factor. We’ll see.