Inspired By Obama, European Minorities Take Action

And my favorite French moderate-conservative, Human Rights Minister Rama Yade (pictured left) - the only black person in the French Cabinet - is one of the people leading the charge. An Obama effect is rippling across Europe. In France, a pro-Barack Obama grassroots group created months ago is morphing into a campaign for political diversity. In Britain, a black voter group says it is inundated with calls and attendance is soaring. In Austria, a Rwandan-born activist has fired off letters to big parties urging them to field minority candidates. In Germany, the staff of Turkish politician Cem Ozdemir started a Facebook group called “Yes We Cem” — a takeoff on the Obama campaign slogan, “Yes We Can.”

President-Elect Obama’s victory in the United States is inspiring hopes and even planting the seeds of action for changing the overwhelming whiteness of Europe’s political elite. However, it’s unclear whether these efforts will pay off or merely fizzle. Although polls showed majorities in nearly every European country favored then-Senator Obama over Sen. John McCain, many say Europe is far from voting for a leader from an ethnic minority itself.

Europe and the relatively young United States have vastly different histories when it comes to race. The U.S. is a lot more diverse: Minorities now make up about a third of all Americans. By comparison, the Interior Ministry in Germany says “foreigners” made up about 8.2% of the population in 2006. Anti-discrimination groups estimate that blacks and people of North African origin — mostly from former colonies — make up at least 10% of France. Neither country collects official statistics on race. Yet only 10 lawmakers in Germany’s 613-seat lower house of parliament come from minority backgrounds. And in France, the lower house of parliament has just one black lawmaker among 555 elected from the French mainland.

President-Elect Obama's victory was particularly resonant in France. A group formed in a cafe months ago as the Friends of Barack Obama in Lyon is renaming itself "The Movement" to lobby political parties to select minority candidates. It also plans to send a report to President Nicolas Sarkozy by year-end on France's lack of political diversity. Azedine Haffar, spokesperson of "The Movement", said France's stance that all of its citizens are simply French holds minorities back. “There was a before Nov. 4, and an after Nov. 4,” he said. "And those who want to stay in the before, we can tell them: ‘No, it’s finished. This era is over.’”

On Wednesday, France named a Cameroon native, Pierre N’Gahane, as regional leader of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region, although Justice Minister Rachida Dati denied the appointment was made because of mounting calls to end political racism. The morning after President-Elect Obama’s victory, the Representative Council of Black Associations called French President Sarkozy's office for a meeting to press for more measures to prevent discrimination against companies.

However, Rama Yade, the Senegalese-born junior minister for human rights and member of the center-right political party Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, warned in a string of TV and radio appearances following the Obama victory that momentum for change could quickly fade. "Fantasizing will get us nowhere in France," she said. "The movement risks petering out if action doesn't follow."

In Britain, Simon Woolley, the founder and national coordinator of Operation Black Vote, said the phones have been ringing off the hook. The group has three meetings arranged for the end of November and December, and had to change venues because so many people were interested. "We will ride the crest of a wave Obama has created," Mr. Woolley said. "We're using this moment to embarrass the political parties — asking why they haven’t done enough to address Black representation."

My response: I'm telling you, coloreds around the globe are getting "uppity", stepping up their game, and trying to run stuff. Hopefully, this flexing of growing clout will be effective. Even the Iranians, who ain't colored, are asking their totalitarian government: "When we gonna get our Obama?" (and was shut down). Now, if African activists challenge their totalitarian governments by asking the same question, we'll really see a shift.