Jan Roller Vlog Mutual Interview from the DNC

On Wednesday night at the Convention, there was some time to kill after the Roll Call Vote and before Bill Clinton’s big speech. I wandered over to the Ohio delegation and found an old family friend.

Jan Roller is delegate from Cleveland and one of Ohio’s leading Democratic Women. She seemed like perfect person for an interview about what’s happening in Ohio. As we all know, they’re a battleground state. Ohio also has some striking similarities to North Carolina. Ohio has three major metropolitan areas and lots of rural land. For the most part statewide democratic victories rely on strong turnout from a relatively small number of the state’s 88 counties, especially those with a heavy African-American population. Sound familiar?

Jan told me about what’s happening in Ohio to organize a democratic victory, how Democratic women are organizing, how work is being done across urban-suburban-rural divides , and why she hopes an Obama presidency will positively impact American race relations.

Jan asked me about the role that race is playing in the election in North Carolina, what I enjoyed about the convention, and how tough the race is going to be in North Carolina.

Here’s part 1:

Here’s part 2:

It’s interesting to contrast this conversation with the mutual interview I had with James Andrews. James made it clear that he thinks Obama’s candidacy should be evaluated based on its merits and issues, not the candidate’s race. Jan is very curious about what role race is playing, and truly hopeful that an Obama presidency would positively impact race relations in the U.S.

Race didn’t come up very much at the convention. But when it did, it was usually when I was talking with other white people. This surprised me, but I think it’s good. The norm in our country is for white people to avoid talking about race with each other. Unfortunately this avoidance perpetuates too many problems. So when white people begin to explore and struggle issues related to race, it’s important that we do it together and not just with our colleagues of color.

North Carolina delegate Michael Brader-Araje and I had a conversation about talking with other whites about Barack Obama. Michael, who is also a white man, says that when he simply asks whites “What do you think about Obama?” they often respond with surprising ease that he makes them uncomfortable. This is important to explore, and Michael suggested that it’s an opportunity that people like me should take. “White men have to talk with other white men about this, “ he said. I agree.

Talking about race through the lens of an Obama candidacy is a good first step. Since we realize that we cannot expect one man or one presidency to solve our country’s racial ills, we have to use the momentum from these conversations to continue on into more difficult territory. We must talk with each other about how whites perpetuate racism and inequality. We have to move past the belief that only redneck conservatives are capable of racist thought and action. White liberalism has created its own set of racial problems.