"We're so nervous about race that people will describe someone across the room as the guy in the khaki slacks and the blue jacket and the bow tie, and I'll look and say, you mean the black guy?!" said Gwen Ifill Thursday night, speaking to a group at Birmingham Southern College.
Ifill is fascinated by the often controversial topic of race in politics, and spoke on issues that are highlighted in her new book titled: The Breakthrough, Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.
"I've had many audiences in which people have stood up and said, why can't we just get past race, do we have to mention that he's black, and my response is this, why wouldn't we, unless we see race as a negative." Ifill said.
Her book even discusses U.S. Representative Artur Davis' bid to become Alabama's next governor.
But, she says people shouldn't only focus on the fact that Davis would be Alabama's first African-American governor.
"There's a temptation no matter how this election turns out to cast it solely in terms of 'he's the first', but, we can start thinking now that it could be a much broader impact than that, whether he wins or whether he loses." said Iffil.
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