"Allowed" to Win?

I recently watched a video in another class where Tim Wise was featured. He was discussing President Obama’s recent election (circa 2008) and stated that he was elected because many white voters essentially put him in office and allowed him to be there. This is something I took issue with, because it takes away from the President’s political accomplishments. While white people surrounded him in his campaign, so did black people. All of these people, however, believed in the same ideas Barack Obama did, and it was not to focus on figuring out a way to make the white people “allow” him into office.

Thinking about this issue lead me to Bonilla-Silva’s frames of colorblind racism. Here, I think the concept of minimization may have a valid point. Perhaps we should not always make something an issue or topic focused on race. While Barack Obama is a black man, he is also a feminist, a leader, a father, a husband and much more.  Attributing his win of the presidency to the idea that white people “allowed” him into office diminishes everything he has accomplished. If the concept of

minimization were applied here, Obama’s win (in the eyes of people like Tim Wise) might have actually been attributed to his talents and his ability to lead. Focusing on race in every aspect can be problematic if it suggests a person could never have accomplished what they set out to if it weren’t for the help of those with more privilege allowing them to do so.