No black senators

With Barack Obama ascending to the presidency, and with Roland Burris in senatorial limbo, we currently have no African-American senators on Capitol Hill this term.

None.

Unlike some folks I've talked with, I don't think that Burris should be accepted into the Senate primarily so that we can have a black senator. After all, while I initially thought that it was great to see two African Americans rise to become Secretary of State within the Bush administration, I can't say that I'm pleased with either Powell's or Rice's performance in that office. But their performance had nothing to do with their race. And that's the point.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2006, 12.8 percent of Americans identified themselves as black.

And Congress is supposed to represent the people. But, with African Americans making up 12.8 percent of the population, they're currently at 0% in the senate.

Fortunately, we have several African Americans in the House -- most of whom are geographically predictable. And maybe that geographic predictability is another problem -- or, rather, a symptom of a larger underlying problem.

We will soon have an African-American president, decades earlier than I ever anticipated. And he has far more of a clue than the oh-so-white clueless fratboy who preceded him in the Oval Office. This is undeniably good.

But perhaps still no black senators.

What does this tell us? It tells us this:

While we may be pleasantly surprised (and overjoyed) to see Obama become our next president, this nation is not yet post-racial.

Be it opportunity, attitude, luck, or culture (or any combination of these), it reflects the fact that African Americans have as high a glass ceiling to reach for as we women do.

As Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have shown us, that glass ceiling is cracking. But it still has yet to shatter.