Obamatopia
I admit, even sometimes I get a little carried away...
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama
Showing posts with label Obamawatch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obamawatch. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Racial Passing: A Concept Whose Time has Passed?
Senator Obama's meteoric rise from obscurity just 4 years ago to his almost certain clinching of the 2008 Democratic Party nomination (and barring a kamikaze move by the Clintons, the presidency) has raised the specter of race in both public and private conversation to levels not seen since the Civil Rights era. And what has become clear is that there is no longer a consensus on the assumptions that most folks make both privately and publicly about identity and culture, and how they relate to the political sphere. The fact that there are differences in perspective, especially along generational lines as opposed to racial ones, appears to be a strange shock to a lot of folks in the 50+ set. It's as if the Baby Boomers took the Civil Rights Movement as the end in itself, and not the means to the end - which was supposed to be a color-blind, more racially equitable society.
Clinton minions who wish to see her secure the nomination at all costs are consistently the worst perpetrators of this strange myopia, insulting the generations who grew up in an integrated society because they don't (and can't by definition) subscribe to the neurosis of that barrier-busting generation. Senator Obama spoke directly to this generational divide in regard to the African American community when he tried to give some context to the anger expressed by Reverend Wright in the clips aired ad infinitum on Fox News, et al. The Reverend was not to be outdone by the Clinton crew, and his fratricidal impulse in defense of his generational worldview nearly derailed the aspiring candidate. A lot of black folks wondered aloud what the hell Wright was thinking. Did the brother have his eyes on the prize or what?
For me these are the moments when the long view is instructive. A suave, black gentleman friend of mine aged 72 years young regularly puts these issues of race and identity in perspective for me. A life-long New York city native who grew up in Harlem and now lives in Brooklyn, he remembers when sanctimonious Northern cities were (informally) segregated, and shares strategies with me on how he worked his way up the ladder in the architectural world to operate his own design firm. He is not just a student of history, but lived it.
Over brunch on Sunday we talked about an issue that is basically taboo in discussions about 20th century black life – namely the tensions between the light skinned (biracials) and dark skinned (blacks) where issues of leadership are concerned. Yes, there were the Marcus Garveys out there, but on the whole it is biracials who occupied the higher tiers of black society. One need only look as far as Reverend Wright, with his even lighter skin and even more European-looking features contrasted to the biracial Obama, to see an example of this. Could the Reverend’s public unhinging have to do with his deep-seated frustrations at not being allowed to play the leadership role that Senator Obama has been occupying in our brave new “postracial” world – as Obama hinted at in his speech on race? Is the Reverend suffering from a jealously heightened by a form of tragic mulatto-ism?
During our conversation my friend mentioned an interesting factoid of which I was not aware, that if true, adds a further dimension to the discussion. Apparently, the member of President Truman’s inner circle who convinced him to integrate the military was actually a black man “passing” as white. Passing is a phenomenon generally vilified by black folks; a famous fairly recent example is Henry Louis Gate’s posthumous outing of Creole writer Anatole Broyard, resulting in his daughter Bliss’ memoir One Drop. However, since One Drop rule made it traditionally impossible for the biracial leadership to get really close to the annals of power it could only be “passing” blacks or sympathetic whites who could turn the ears of powerful men to do the right thing. I’ve wondered if that ever stuck in the craw of biracials like Gates or Wright who might have had the same vision as an Obama, but the times wouldn’t allow them the space to lead beyond the Jim Crow era race categories.
Obama is messing with black people's minds as much as white's because he is a biracial that is not out there solely representing the black struggle, as was the case for the majority of the Civil Rights leadership of the 20th century. His platform and worldview can be summed up as a rising tide lifts all boats. There is no denying that things are still bad for many black folks and there is a lot of work to be done. However, opportunities for black advancement have improved in the post Civil Rights era -- along with the minds of many white people young and old about the intelligence and leadership capabilities of people of color. If this were not true, Obama would not be winning!
It is precisely because Obama is biracial, not just genetically but also culturally and politically, that many white people feel comfortable in his ability to represent the needs and desires of all Americans not just black ones. His biracial appeal to whites is also the reason why black people eventually came out overwhelmingly in support of him; they recognized that he was being taken as a viable presidential candidate, and not just seen by whites as running for the president of black America.
One drop rule may have once been agreed to by whites and blacks alike – as a necessary mechanism of economic control for the white elite while also a way for blacks to foment solidarity for the freedom struggle. But in President Obama’s America will it still be necessary or even possible? Will newly biologically white folks (read: passing) need to hide African descent in order to advocate for black advancement when there is a bi-racial president advocating for all people's advancement? When there are blacks, biracials and other people of color (not proportionally representative but getting there, albeit slowly) in leadership positions in government, business, academia and media across the board? And just where does that leave the Reverend Wrights of the world?
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Democratic nomination - southern strategy - race baiting - Reverend Wright - One Drop rule - passing - biracial
Friday, January 18, 2008
Obama the Reagan-lover?
The overblown rhetoric coming from the left wing blogosphere (read the comments section) over the above statement would make one think that Obama suddenly switched sides to run as a republican. But a careful look at his comments using logic and reason, instead of hyperbole and distortion, would make it clear that he is not endorsing Reagan's policies per se, but his ability to capitalize on an historic political moment.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama - Ronald Reagan
Monday, January 07, 2008
Saturday, January 05, 2008
It's No Fluke
Hillary's core demographic roots for the upstart at New Hampshire's 100 Club DinnerPolitical bloggers from the left and right wrote enthusiastically last night about the response Obama received at the annual Democratic Party pow-wow in Milford, New Hampshire. Apparently, Clinton was trounced once again by the Obamania that has taken over voters young and old, Democratic, Republican and Independent. Today's polls seem to indicate that he may indeed take New Hampshire next!
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama - New Hampshire - 100 Club Dinner
Friday, January 04, 2008
Obama, Not Bill (or Hill)
A victorious Obama at the Iowa CaucusAs I have been saying to friends for months and months now, which was alluded to by former South Carolina Democratic chairman Dick Harpootlian in this article, is that blacks, not whites, are the Doubting Thomases where an Obama presidency is concerned.
His victory in Iowa, "which is as white as vanilla ice cream … will let African-Americans in South Carolina know that he can go the distance."
Wake up black people! Bill Clinton was NOT the first black president. Barrack Obama can be, if you would simply support his candidacy like the 95% white state of Iowa did tonight.
Jim Crow is over.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama - Iowa caucus
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend?
In the clip below, Dr. Marc Lamont Hill discusses on Fox News Live Desk why the black leadership hasn't yet come out in full support of Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez nails the fears of the established black leadership on the head when she states that "Barack Obama doesn't need a connection with African American leaders to build a connection with African American voters."
The zinger is Martha MacCallum's follow up comment: "Yeah and I don't know, David, you know, politically whether he wants to be going around the country with Al Sharpton."
Dr. Hill assures the panel that the black leadership is not against Obama per se; they just want to to see him "take a stand." A friend of mine has an interesting take on what steps the black leadership may actually take if Obama refuses to "take a stand" and tow their party line:"Obama's biggest danger may be if the civil rights establishment tries to deliberately sink him by embracing him, accusing mainstream white institutions of "anti-black racism" for campaign tactics against him. I have a feeling that that's a big part of what sunk Harold Ford, Jr., perhaps deliberately by the NAACP, when they made a lot of noise about how campaign ads against him were anti-black racism."
This recent statement may be an indication that those tactics are not so off.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama - Al Sharpton - black leaders - Fox News - Harold Ford Jr.
Monday, January 15, 2007
John Edwards - More Black than Obama?
Yesterday, John Edwards threw down the gauntlet to the newly minted Democratic majority congress by calling for them to cut the purse strings so the US can stop the Bush "surge" in Iraq. Edwards accomplished two important political goals at this speech:
1) he positioned himself against the other Democratic presidential frontrunners - Clinton and Obama - as the anti-war candidate
2) he aligned himself with the majority of American voters who want this war to end
I predict the leftwing mainstream media will spin the crap out of the meaning of the speech. And from all accounts, they've already begun. This morning on NPR's Brian Lehrer show guest commentator Juan Williams dismissed Edwards anti-war credentials because he voted for the Iraq war resolution. Apparently, like the Bush camp, Williams believes that politicians cannot change their minds lest they be weak or opportunistic.
Both Williams and Lehrer concluded that Edwards' positioning of himself as the anti-war candidate is an appeal to the Democratic base, while Clinton's response proves that her camp is attempting to appeal to the general population. This of course is poppycock. Apparently, like the rightwing mainstream media, the American people's repudiation of the Iraq war vis a vis the Democratic sweep of the 2007 mid-term elections has gone down the Williams/Lehrer memory hole.
Interestingly, Obama's camp has not yet responded to the Edwards speech. Williams and Lehrer glossed over this fact and instead concentrated on Obama's amount of foreign policy experience, and whether or not he has made his supposedly "mainstream" position on limited support for the war clear.
The two of course could not explain why Obama hasn't yet responded to the Edwards speech because they missed the third, more subtle political goal Edwards was shooting for: positioning himself as the real "black" candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
Obama has been playing a very slick game up until this point by keeping one foot in the black camp and the other in the biracial one. He has been coding his biracial consciousness underneath his status as a 2nd generation Kenyan-American. To my knowledge no pundit has yet caught onto this game, but Stanley Crouch has come awfully close. Since Crouch's November 2006 editorial, Obama has continued, albeit cautiously, riding between America's newly resurgent black/biracial color line. That is, until Edwards' speech at Riverside Church yesterday.
The Southerner Edwards has been making subtle overtures to black America at least since Kerry's failed 2004 presidential run, where Edwards served as the Vice Presidential candidate. When it became clear that the RNC was pulling a jack move in Ohio a la Florida circa 2000, Edwards called for a full recount while Kerry basically conceded. Kerry eventually came around, but the damage was already done and the presidency went to the Bush camp.
Edwards' second significant appeal to blacks was the launch of his 2008 presidential campaign from the ruins of New Orleans, where he lauded the efforts of the black children rebuilding a flooded house directly behind him as he announced his bid. In the speech he linked New Orleans, the Iraq war, the genocide in Sudan, global warming, poverty and the need for a new energy economy.
Edwards' most clear challenge to Obama as the candidate for black America, however, is evidenced in yesterday's speech at Riverside church. Forty years earlier in an anti-war speech held at the same church, MLK called the Lyndon administration "the greatest purveryor of violence in the world today" for its prosecution of the war in Vietnam. Taken with his call for an Ohio 2004 vote recount and his campaign launch, Edwards' alignment with black America's ultimate political symbol on the eve of black America's most significant national holiday is calling Obama out on his game.
In effect, Edwards is rejecting America's two color lines and attempting to force Obama to do so as well. The more Edwards appeals (or appears to appeal) to black interests, the more Obama will be pressured to "out black" him - lest he be considered a traitor to the race and lose the support of both blacks and whites who are vested in the African American race category.
Obama's next move will be the most crucial in his political career. If he can deflect Edwards' attempt to force him onto the black side of America's color line - meaning maintaining biracial consciousness without losing the trust and support of black Americans while also keeping the support of white Americans looking to deflect responsibility for continued black American poverty - than the Jim Crow era of black/white racial endogamy may truly be over and a new three-tiered political system based on color has re-emerged.
Biracial America's Formidable Opponent
Technorati Tags: - John Edwards - Iraq war - 2008 presidential race - Barack Obama
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Obama: Black or Biracial in 2008?
Apparently others are wondering the same thing that I am. Barack Obama - black in politics or biracial in politics? Blogger James D. Walton of the site Black in Business, asks the question and links to the reader response blog of Chicago Sun Times columnist Mary Mitchell on this very topic.
Obama seems to be riding the middle ground between black Americans who generally one drop anyone with any African heritage, and whites who want to be proven wrong in their desire to one drop anyone with African heritage. Black Americans still seem to believe (erroneously in my opinion) that enforcing a group identity will somehow ensure the social, political and economic interests of black people in America. White Americans appear to be believe that most black politicians aren't fit for national leadership positions because they are too narrow in their focus of securing the interests of black people above the (white) majority. Both positions reinforce each other, and it will take an especially skilled politician of African descent - black or biracial - to sufficiently soothe the fears of either group to be voted into the highest office. Whether Obama can keep it real while simultaneously passing into the mainstream will be a fascinating process to watch in the next couple of years.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama - Election 2008
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