Obama in Trouble already?
Today Barack Obama officially announced he is running for President in 2008. This of coarse is a big deal. There has never been a Black President. The event was so big that Obama made his announcement in Springfield Illinois, the home town of our 16th President. Even Honest Abe no doubt saw this coming from a hundred miles away. However, this commentary is not about Obama’s potential as a candidate for the Presidency. There has already been a ton of discussion on the matter, and it will no doubt be one of the biggest stories of 2007/08. IC and the folks (myself included), at Presidential Politics will cover this ad nauseum.
Tonight’s commentary is on an event that was held at the same time at Hampton University in Virginia. You see, today was also the day C-Span aired “The State of the Black Union”, a series of discussions by leading African American’s in the fields of Education, Religion, Politics, Media, Economics, Social Services, Literature, and Entertainment. The event is a 4 hour long “Town Hall” type panel discussion organized by the great Tavis Smiley and radio host Tom Joyner. Since 2000, the event has been essential viewing for me. The perspective of African Americans toward America’s mainstream power base has long been one of disenfranchisement. The event does a great job of letting an eclectic group of people from the Black community present ideas on how to improve life in America. It is a huge event. It shows Dead Prez is right, its Bigger then Hip Hop.
The afternoon panel is always the best, as Smiley himself narrates, and the panel often includes some of the greatest minds in America today. It also highlights the fact that any day I get a chance to listen to Cornel West speak is a good day.
The fact that Obama chose not to attend the event and made his announcement in Springfield, Illinois did not go unnoticed. Even one of Obama’s former professors at Harvard, Charles Ogletree, made a point to state his displeasure toward Obama’s absence. In the early panel discussion, both Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were quick to point out that African Americans need make it clear that their votes are not already locked up, something that could lead to vocal marginalization during the primary. The later panel was also quick to point out that Obama’s running should not mean that the Black community has "its" voice that will speak for them come 2008.
This presents a unique dynamic that is a Catch 22 for Obama because the panel is right. Obama needs the support of African Americans, but his fanbase in not defined by just Blacks. He was not a product of someone raised in the throws of the Civil Rights movement. His father was from Kenya and his mother was a white woman from Kansas. He was born in Honolulu. His parents separated when he was two years old and his mother then married a guy from Indonesia. He is from a multi-racial family, and lived in Hawaii and Jakarta as youth. Personally, I think this gives him a kind of international appeal that America needs right now. Despite doing a lot while a member of the Illinois state legislature, Obama’s national presence is not connected to his work in the Black community. Like Tiger Woods, Obama must be careful not to alienate the Black community by embracing this international appeal too soon, which often is interpreted as selling out a vital community in need of powerful voices, who can help decide the democratic candidate.
Thus, while the symbolism of Obama announcing in Honest Abe’s backyard was impressive for Chris Mathews and Presidential historians every where, the State of the Black Union showed it was at best a missed opportunity and at worst a slap in the face to many in the African American community. Obama’s first chance to embrace his position as a leader was lost today.
I think it was a huge mistake. Honest Abe’s only policy to deal with Black people was to send them back to Africa. Sorry, not the textbook version, but the truth. You know how I do. Obama announcing in Virginia of all places, home to the (degenerate) Confederate capital, would have been just as symbolic.
So if you have any free time check out Tavis Smiley’s new book, The Covenant in Action, online now. It is a must read for all Americans.
To all my peeps out there, stay strong, don’t buy into the manipulative Hallmark Capitalist Machine that is Valentines Day. It should only really be known to the world as it is to me, as my brother's birthday. So a shout out to The General, Happy 31st.
I am off to work on my application for a VP job at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…Cuz Umi Says "Shine your light on the world"....
Strength and Honor Comrades.......
Tonight’s commentary is on an event that was held at the same time at Hampton University in Virginia. You see, today was also the day C-Span aired “The State of the Black Union”, a series of discussions by leading African American’s in the fields of Education, Religion, Politics, Media, Economics, Social Services, Literature, and Entertainment. The event is a 4 hour long “Town Hall” type panel discussion organized by the great Tavis Smiley and radio host Tom Joyner. Since 2000, the event has been essential viewing for me. The perspective of African Americans toward America’s mainstream power base has long been one of disenfranchisement. The event does a great job of letting an eclectic group of people from the Black community present ideas on how to improve life in America. It is a huge event. It shows Dead Prez is right, its Bigger then Hip Hop.
The afternoon panel is always the best, as Smiley himself narrates, and the panel often includes some of the greatest minds in America today. It also highlights the fact that any day I get a chance to listen to Cornel West speak is a good day.
The fact that Obama chose not to attend the event and made his announcement in Springfield, Illinois did not go unnoticed. Even one of Obama’s former professors at Harvard, Charles Ogletree, made a point to state his displeasure toward Obama’s absence. In the early panel discussion, both Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were quick to point out that African Americans need make it clear that their votes are not already locked up, something that could lead to vocal marginalization during the primary. The later panel was also quick to point out that Obama’s running should not mean that the Black community has "its" voice that will speak for them come 2008.
This presents a unique dynamic that is a Catch 22 for Obama because the panel is right. Obama needs the support of African Americans, but his fanbase in not defined by just Blacks. He was not a product of someone raised in the throws of the Civil Rights movement. His father was from Kenya and his mother was a white woman from Kansas. He was born in Honolulu. His parents separated when he was two years old and his mother then married a guy from Indonesia. He is from a multi-racial family, and lived in Hawaii and Jakarta as youth. Personally, I think this gives him a kind of international appeal that America needs right now. Despite doing a lot while a member of the Illinois state legislature, Obama’s national presence is not connected to his work in the Black community. Like Tiger Woods, Obama must be careful not to alienate the Black community by embracing this international appeal too soon, which often is interpreted as selling out a vital community in need of powerful voices, who can help decide the democratic candidate.
Thus, while the symbolism of Obama announcing in Honest Abe’s backyard was impressive for Chris Mathews and Presidential historians every where, the State of the Black Union showed it was at best a missed opportunity and at worst a slap in the face to many in the African American community. Obama’s first chance to embrace his position as a leader was lost today.
I think it was a huge mistake. Honest Abe’s only policy to deal with Black people was to send them back to Africa. Sorry, not the textbook version, but the truth. You know how I do. Obama announcing in Virginia of all places, home to the (degenerate) Confederate capital, would have been just as symbolic.
So if you have any free time check out Tavis Smiley’s new book, The Covenant in Action, online now. It is a must read for all Americans.
To all my peeps out there, stay strong, don’t buy into the manipulative Hallmark Capitalist Machine that is Valentines Day. It should only really be known to the world as it is to me, as my brother's birthday. So a shout out to The General, Happy 31st.
I am off to work on my application for a VP job at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…Cuz Umi Says "Shine your light on the world"....
Strength and Honor Comrades.......
Labels: Barack Obama, Cornel West, Dead Prez, Democratic Primary, Mos Def, Presidential Election, State of the Black Union, Tavis Smiley
posted by The Dude at
8:08 PM
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