On November 15, American Peabody Award-winning PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, died of cancer at the age of 61. During an April 16, 2009 Westminster Presbyterian Church Town Hall Forum, MSR Staff Writer Charles Hallman had the opportunity to speak with her about her recently released book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. We are republishing the story in this issue in honor of her passing and the legacy in journalism she leaves behind.

Gwen Ifill said race always matters in the electoral process
Barack Obamaâs election as U.S. president in 2008 sparked a new era of Black politicians, claims PBS journalist Gwen Ifill.
Ifill told the overflow crowd of around 1,500 who attended the April 16, 2009 Westminster Presbyterian Church Town Hall Forum in downtown Minneapolis that Obamaâs presidential campaign ârewrote the textbookâ on presidential politics. When he accepted the Democratic nomination last summer in Denver, âIt was a rare lightning-struck moment that finally elevated the dramatic shift in tone, message and leadership, and forced a redefinition of Black politics and Black politicians,â she noted.
âIt was the age of Obama in full effect,â said the moderator and managing editor of PBSâ weekly news round-table show, Washington Week, and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrerâs senior correspondent as she mainly spoke on her latest book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Before joining PBS, Ifill also worked as NBC News chief congressional and political correspondent and was a reporter for the New York Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Evening Sun and Boston Herald American.
Most Black elected officials, especially those as mayors and legislators, âare driven as much by demographics [as] by destiny,â Ifill pointed out, adding that although historic, she devoted only a chapter on President Obama in her book that also features profiles on other Black elected officials, such as Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and Artur Davis, an Alabama U.S. Congressman who is contemplating running for governor.

Patrick was the exception as Obama, Booker and Davis all lost in their first attempts at running for elected office. Patrick never had run for office prior to winning the Massachusetts governorâs seat, noted Ifill.
The obstacles these officials all ran into included naysayers, continued the 30-year journalist. âThey all were told by Black people that they were not Black enough and by Whites that they were too Black,â said Ifill. âRace sometimes helps and sometimes hurts, but it always matters.â
According to Ifill, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. told her, âThere is a movement in the Black community for accountable leadership,â and he said his father, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. is among those âunaccountableâ Black leaders.
She argued that America must still discuss race. âI think there is a fair amount of resentment from people who are not of color that they are expected to apologized,â she said, adding that we are not in a âpost-racialâ age. âFirst of all, he [Obama] doesnât see himself as multi-racial â he defines himself as African American.â
Furthermore, Ifill pointed out, âIt is not up to Congress, but it is up to usâ to improve U.S. race relations, and move away from typical labels as âwhoâs good, whoâs bad, whoâs responsible and whoâs not responsible â we have to find a way to work together.
âI think I am more hopeful than I was at this time last year,â Ifill surmised.
During audience questions, the longtime journalist was asked what role the Black church plays in todayâs politics. âFor many, many years there was no other platform for African Americans but the Black church,â said Ifill, whose father was an African Methodist Episcopal Church minister.
âIt was the only place we owned and the only place where we could have the microphone. The model of leadership is shifting, and it is not exclusively in the Black church. But that doesnât mean there is not still a social justice role, or [that] social justice activism isnât alive and well in many African American churches.â
When asked are there any fast-rising Black female politicians, â[Black] women often choose to lead in other ways, such as leading nonprofit organizations,â she said, adding that Black men usually âdonât wait their turnâ to run for political office, âwhile women tend to wait to be asked.â
The forumâs crowd was primarily White, but there were a handful of Blacks in attendance. Adrienne Merrill Ratliff of Minneapolis said she regularly attends the Westminster Forums but doesnât often see a lot of fellow Blacks. âI donât think there is enough publicity,â she pointed out. âI like to think itâs more that instead of [Blacks] not [being] interested in whatâs going on in the world.â
The Washington-based journalist concluded that although Obama is Americaâs first Black president, âYou are not going to see Barack Obama with his fist in the air, singing âWe Shall Overcome,ââ said Ifill. âBut I find it very interesting now to watch how subtle the Obamas are to speaking to race. I think they are very conscious [of] who they are and how they are doing it.â
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.
Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.