It did pique my interest that the candidacy of Barack Obama is not universally welcomed by African-Americans, since in the primaries he won the great majority of African-American votes.

What’s the problem? According to several black sociologists it’s that Obama’s success might undermine black claims of incorrigible racism in our rotten society and make it more difficult for other, less gifted black people to demand special breaks.

They’re afraid that white folks will say if one dark-skinned American can become president, or even a major-party candidate for president, then maybe other dark-skinned citizens can compete on equal terms for jobs and college admission. Maybe they don’t need special consideration.

That would be a huge problem for people whose world view is founded on a racism that won’t quit. What if it quits? What do you do then?

Please note I said “dark-skinned” of Obama; I didn’t say black. The media generally refers to him as black and so do the African-American sociologists who have been pointing out the downside of his candidacy. I don’t know why. With one black parent and one white parent, isn’t he as much one as the other? I call him mixed-race, or biracial myself.

But anyway, I get a big kick out of prominent black thinkers fretting about the advance of racial equality. If we get a biracial president people will think we have achieved equality and will no longer be receptive to complaints of racism. And that would put some African-American leaders, including some prominent sociologists, possibly, out of business. Oh, cruel fate!