Where is the candid discussion on race relations?

I agree that, as our nation’s first black president, Barack Obama is in an unprecedented spot to bridge the racial gap. When he speaks on issues of race, his words carry significant weight, whether or not he intends for them to do so. This was apparent when his remark that members of the Cambridge Police Department acted “stupidly” ignited a dither of mutterings from many that support our men and women in uniform. It appeared the president recognized this, as he invited the two men involved to a discussion over some brew. I was eagerly looking forward to the discussion between the president, vice president and their two guests on the specific circumstance that brought them together as well as race relations in general.

But where was it? Instead of being treated to a thoughtful discussion about race relations in America, the American people were only given a few vague quotes from the participants and a few photographs of their little picnic that looked as if they were taken in secret behind a bush a hundred feet away. As far as I know, no microphones were even present at this “Beer Summit.” What gives? In a supposedly “post-racial” America, why didn’t what Obama called a “teachable moment” resemble anything like what goes on in a classroom?

While the beer thing was cute, the event turned out to be little more than an anticlimactic photo-op. I want to know what it would take to get a truly candid discussion on the issue of race from this president, instead of flippant remarks like the one he made on a situation on which he admittedly knew little.

Thomas E. Grooms III
IU student