Our nation’s new president, Barack Obama, put hope in the eyes of many to eliminate prejudices, racism and stereotypes simply by being elected.

America’s bright future seems to be blinding the eyes of many people because other stereotypes have been created by this election such as assuming citizens who do not belong to the black population do not support Obama, as well as assuming black people only like Obama because he is black.

“While we may still be a distance from eliminating prejudice in our society, seeing Mr. Obama become the head of our government some 40 years after Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated for his ‘radicalism’ is evidence to me of a major social change,” said freshman philosophy major Olof Johnson, “and from that change comes the hope that perhaps someday we could live in a world free of prejudices.”

Dr. LaVerne Gyant, director of the Center for Black Studies, thinks our nation is no more divided today than it was before Obama was elected.

“What he has done is given us an opportunity to begin to talk about and share our views about race. There will always be pre-judgment,” she said.

CNN interviewed Chris Rock on Jan. 19 and asked him why he didn’t joke about Obama in his new DVD. Do some people assume Rock didn’t want to joke about Obama because they are both black? Or, was CNN simply just doing its job and asking questions? Probably both.

“I don’t think [CNN was] out of line, but what Chris Rock has done by not making jokes is to show his respect of President Obama,” Gyant said.

Johnson thinks Chris Rock’s comedic topics are insignificant.

“Who cares [about] who Chris Rock makes fun of?” Johnson asked. “CNN needs to grow up, stop reporting about what Chris Rock thinks of our president and get back to the real atrocities that plague our world.”

No one can deny hearing stereotypical accusations like, “You’re only a Hillary supporter because you’re a girl,” or an “You’re an Obama supporter because you are black.”

“I feel such comments are rude and border on sexism/racism,” Johnson said. “Anyone who is guilty of such an accusation needs to become more informed about who they plan to vote for or not vote at all.”

Gyant thinks these assumptions will always be made no matter what.

“If you listened to and read some of the news commentary, they talked about how many African-Americans were hesitant about supporting President Obama.”

Obama being elected president is certainly an historic event for the black community to embrace, as it is for all other ethnicities in America.

Assuming the first African-American becoming president is only a breakthrough for the African-American community, however, is a narrow-minded way of thinking. The same can be said for those who categorize supporters by their ethnicity or gender.

This is a moment in history the entire nation should embrace.