Lack of coverage on history in the making

Nelson Graves
Published: June 11, 2008

OK, I’ll admit that the Shenandoah Valley, especially the lower part, is overwhelmingly conservative and politically Republican. But you can’t begin to realize my angst last week, when Barack Obama became the first Black person to secure the presidential nomination for one of the major political parties.
On June 4, all three local newspapers – The News Virginian, the Harrisonburg Daily News Record and the Staunton News Leader – mentioned Obama’s win but none noted the significance.
The News Leader’s largest headline was for a story about the conviction of an animal cruelty offender. The lead story on the front page of the Daily News Record was about a cockfighting raid in Luray. The News Virginian led with a story about Virginia becoming a battleground state in November’s national election. Obama and America’s historic win and place in world history, respectively, ran on Page A3.
Even more insulting, none of the papers emphasized Obama’s being the first Black person to make a legitimate run for president of the United States. Instead, the headlines placed more emphasis on his opponent’s quest to be his running mate.
In 1963, 45 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his great “I Have a Dream” speech. In that famous speech he spoke of dreaming of the day when all people are judged by their character, not the color of their skin. Obama is an example of King’s dream.
Obama isn’t the Democratic nominee because of his color (Affirmative Action) but because of his ideas and plans to transform America. He wants America to live up to her ideals, return to her proper place as an international leader and improve life for all her citizens.
Obama wasn’t handed the nomination. He earned it. Even President Bush and his administration recognized that fact. Last week, Bush and Secretary of State Condolezza Rice congratulated him and noted the historical significance of the event. 
What message is sent, particularly to our youth, when the first black American to lead a major party for president of the U.S. is upstaged in the Valley by animals? No wonder some of our young and old people resist getting beyond our racist past and resist believing race is a problem in America.
For all foes of Black History Month, local coverage of Obama’s feat shows why the month of February is very relevant and needed. The lack of recognition and coverage of Obama’s historical election Tuesday night tells me that local editors missed an opportunity to report history as it was being made.
International newspapers of allies and foes alike published the historical event. Not only did they report Obama’s election, many international newspapers praised America for taking a step toward returning to its rightful place as world leader.
I’ve no doubt what the leading black history fact will be next year. Correction, I hope Obama’s election as nominee for president of the Democratic Party is the second leading fact in 2008.
His election as president in November should be the lead factor.
Nelson Graves, Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, writes a weekly column for The News Virginian. E-mail him at .