Obama’s success isn’t all good news for black Americans

　　As Erin White watched the election results head towards victory for Barack Obama, she felt　a burden lifting from her shoulders. "In that one second, it was a validation for my whole　race," she recalls.

　　"I've always been an achiever," says White, who is studying for an MBA at Vanderbilt　University in Nashville, Tennessee. "But there had always been these things in the back of　my mind questioning whether I really can be who I want. It was like a shadow, following me　around saying you can only go so far. Now it's like a barrier has been let down."

　　White's experience is what many psychologists had expected - that Obama would prove to　be a powerful role model for African Americans. Some hoped his rise to prominence would　have a big impact on white Americans, too, challenging those who still harbour racist　sentiments. "The traits that characterise him are very contradictory to the racial stereotypes that black people are aggressive and uneducated," says Ashby Plant of Florida State University. "He's very intelligent and eloquent."

　　奥巴马的成功对美国黑人来说未必是

　　当Erin White观看奥巴马选举而得知了他胜利的消息时，她感到如释重负。“在那一刻，我的整个种族获得了认可。”她回忆说。

　　“我过去总会是一个成功者，”正在田纳西州的纳什维尔，攻读范德比尔特大学MBA学位的White说，“但是我的种族出身，会使我心疑惑，疑惑我是否能够真的成为自己想要成为的人。它就像个阴影，有声音不断萦绕在我耳边：你就只能走这么远了。而现在就像是我心中的障碍得以摆脱了。”

　　White的经历是许多心理学家早已预料到的，那就是对非裔美国人来说，奥巴马确实成为了他们强大的榜样。一些人希望他的崛起会对白种美国人带来巨大冲击，也会挑战那些仍然隐藏着种族歧视情绪的人。他出类拔萃的特质，有力地反驳了那些带有歧视性的，认为黑人粗鲁好斗的陈腔滥调，”福罗里达州立大学的Ashby Plant说，“他真是极其地聪慧，且辩才滔滔。”

【责任编辑：豆腐李】