Barack Obama has a monumental task. He knew he did when he even remotely thought about running for President. One can only imagine just how much larger it must seem now that he has “insider” information on the state of the country as President-elect and just weeks away from a historic inauguration.

If you are directly interested in Obama’s immediate plan on the economic situation or at least a hint of that plan, it can be read here .

But this is not what I’m looking to focus on. No, the mountain that Obama will have to climb is not just a political one, not just an economic one but a racial one as well. Of course, this is nothing new to Obama, who undoubtedly has met more than his fair share of racial ceilings.

That is certainly what makes this upcoming inauguration a historical one. A non-Caucasian male in the White House will be a first. Let’s hope it is not the last. And yet, for all the celebration that should rightly be had, I also hope that if Obama’s term ends far more poorly than he projected for himself or ends poorly due to a variety of unforeseen circumstances that the racial rebuilding that has been going on in this country doesn’t cause a bit to crumble back down.

After all, we are not terribly removed from slavery - only some 145 years since the Emancipation Proclamation (and simply because slavery was legally banned didn’t mean that racism ended - nor are we naive enough to believe that it has with this election either).

The racial and cultural mileu of the U.S. is still very volatile between blacks and whites, even if it is far less public than it was, say, even in the 50s. The tension is still felt by any person who walks into a multi-racial/cultural room - we’d be ignorant to say otherwise - most of us have felt it at one time or another, if not on a daily basis. The surface of our culture says that America not only tolerates but accepts racial and cultural differences, but is it a deeply-rooted value? Is our attitude toward racial and cultural diversity authentic? If we are to be honest with ourselves, there is still much a great deal of maturation yet to happen.

So as we anticipate this upcoming Presidential term let us judge the man in office “not by the color of his skin but on the content of his character.”

Mr. Obama, you have a great task ahead of you. May the great task of the American people be to no longer need proven worth of any race as well.

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