a speech by Amiri Baraka, recorded earlier this month in Newark
Give Obama a break, some of his supporters argue. He's got to get elected first. Till them he can't be seen acknowledging the needs of Black America for job creation on a vast scale, for an end to foreclosures, the repeal of No Child Left Behind, the equitable rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, and lowering of the prison population and cutting military budget to free up money for these and other human needs.
Poet, playwright and longtime activist Amiri Baraka has a different take on the Obama candidacy, and the responsibility of the politically conscious.
In this speech he cautions those who imagine Obama will make a difference without a strong left movement pressuring and pushing him further and faster than he and his corporate backers really want to go.
"Even if there's gonna be a black president," said Baraka in Newark early this month, "if we don't do nothin' he won't do nothin'... the less we do, the less we can expect Obama to respond to us..."
Baraka took to task those who criticize Obama without actually organizing anything on the ground in their communities.
"The question," he said, "is what will you do, where will you go with the one opening that they leave you which they claim is democracy."
This is a 36 minute audio recording. Click the flash player below to hear the streaming audio. If you prefer to download the MP3 file instead, click the mic icon at right.
THIS AUDIO IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE
Regrettably we cannot publish the full credits for this audio piece at the moment because the server at www.radio4all.net is down or busy at BAR publication time. When the server is up again we will do so. Our thanks, meanwhile to the great people at
www.radio4all.net for making it and much else available.
After you contribute to BAR, you should drop a little on them too.
The consolidation of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger into a confederation marks the next steps toward sovereignty and self-determination for the people of those nations. This achievement has become a…
The Indo-Pacific Command recently began its Rim of the Pacific exercises - a reminder of the continuing US militarization of the world and its flagrant violation of national sovereignty.
On 6th July 2024, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have officially created the Alliance of Sahel States Confederation. Ibrahim Traore, President of the Transition of Burkina Faso, delivers this speech…
This week, we discuss the struggle for Black political power in conservative Louisiana, and Margaret Kimberley talks about the recent debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But first, we discuss…
Philippe Gendrault joins us to discuss the parliamentary elections in France, his home country, where the right wing is ascendant while left forces are very weak.
