A lot of ink has been spilled already, with tons more to come, about just how truly historic last night was. Given our country’s history, one cannot overstate the importance of the first African-American President. When you drill down a little deeper, however, President Obama will serve as a symbol of something potentially deeper. Will President Obama mean the end of affirmative action? Consider what happened. An African-American man, raised by a single mother, succeeded to the most important position in the world. Is it still credible for minorities to say that historic racism and biases makes it impossible for them to compete for jobs, and that the playing field needs to be leveled by quotas and preferences? Last night may prove to be the final leveling of the playing field and the functional end of affirmative action.
Only time will tell if we truly find ourselves in a post-racial era. What we know as we wake up this morning and start to absorb what happened yesterday is that if have not reached that mark, we have taken a giant step in its direction.