Questions: Barack Obama and Racialized Leader

questions: Since his announcement, the question that consistently comes up in public and private conversation is whether Singh, a man with brown skin and a turban, could be elected as Prime Minister in Canada, according to Huffington Post Canada. We reminded that Canada is a country which is still overwhelmingly white, Christian, and often grapples with challenges around race and racism. If successful, Singh will become the first racialized leader of a major Canadian political party. The first thing that comes to mind when such questions arise is how many times the same questions were asked about the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama, and how bleak his bid for the presidency seemed to many Americans. He was able to use his charisma and political acumen to build a coalition of urban liberals, blue collar workers, and racialized minorities. After all, how could a black man be elected president less than 200 years after the end of slavery How could someone from a racial group which had a mere 50 years earlier not been allowed to drink from the same fountain as their white co-citizens be elected in a country where white people still formed a strong majority However, Barack Obama proved the naysayers wrong in 2008 when he was elected on a wave of hope and optimism. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.