Barack Obama's Pernicious Refusal to Defend the Causes of
Black/Brown People
by Tolu Olorunda
"Most shocking is Obama's
acquiescence to forces of white supremacy."
Barack Obama: "The black candidate," "The candidate who happens to be
black," "The post-racial politician," "The Rock-Star nominee," "The
liberal-Senator," "The likable/beloved/lucid/articulate contender," "The
once-in-a-lifetime phenomena," is playing with super-heated, blistering,
searing, 400-year fanned fire. Let's hope he doesn't get burnt.
The senator from Illinois has prided himself in running a "race-neutral-strategic-candidacy." This politically calculated decision, while
disingenuous, has garnered enormous commendation from white pundits and
middle-class blacks, who view the majority of black pain as illegitimate, and
seek to use an Obama presidency as a counterpoint against civil/human rights
advocates. Most shocking is Obama's acquiescence to forces of white supremacy.
Those who foolishly accept the notion that Obama, as president, would alleviate
the problems of racial discrimination, police brutality, wrongful imprisonment,
dilapidated public schools, wealth inequality, etc., seem to have not taken the
candidate seriously when he said there is no "black" or "white" problem.
From the beginning of his candidacy, Sen. Obama made it unmistakably
clear that his campaign would respond in a "talk-to-the-hand" format to those
blacks and browns who did not see things his way. Before long, it became
apparent how far he would go to win the precious white vote. On February 10, 2007, the date set for Tavis Smiley's annual "State of the Black Union" forum, Barack Obama was invited to join a panel of black scholars to speak on issues including the terrorizing of black people. Obama claimed to have a scheduling conflict. As it turned out, February 10 was the day Obama announced his bid for the presidency.
"It became
apparent how far he would go to win the precious white vote."
Obama's absence generated a firestorm, as several of Smiley's panelists expressed outrage over his "mixed priorities." Princeton professor and Obama supporter Cornel West showed his disappointment, saying:
"Obama is a very decent, brilliant,
charismatic brother. There's no doubt about that. The problem is that, he's got
folk who are talking to him, who warrant our distrust, precisely because we
know that him going to Springfield the same day brother Tavis has set this up
for a whole year - we already know then, that him coming out there is not
fundamentally about us. It's about somebody else. He's got large numbers of
white brothers and sisters, who have fears and anxieties, and he's got to speak
to them in such a way, that he holds us at arm's length enough, to say he loves
us, but doesn't get too close to scare them off. So he's walking this tight
rope."
To make plainer his position on "black-only" issues, Obama again failed
to appear at the 2008 "State of the Black Union." This time around, the senator
offered up his wife for attendance, a proposition Tavis Smileys rejected.
Adding fuel to the fire, Sen. Obama would once again cause black people
to question his regard for the slain leaders of the race. On April 4, 2008,
while Senators' Hillary Clinton and John McCain were milking the opportunity to
pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Mr. Obama chose to speak
400 miles away, in Indiana. Obama's failure to honor Dr. King on the
anniversary of his death, was shocking. Prof. Cornel West was quick to register
his displeasure. In a blog posted the same day, West wrote:
"I want to say that I'm deeply
disappointed that my dear brother Barack Obama decided not to go pay tribute
and lay his wreath for the great Martin Luther King, Jr. That brother Martin's
profound love and deep sacrifice for black people, America and humanity is in
no way reducible to political calculations, even for the campaign for
presidency. That Martin Luther King Jr.'s deep commitment to unarmed truth and
unconditional love can in no way be subject to strategies for access to
political power. Hence, I have a very deep disagreement with my dear brother,
Barack Obama - in this case, commitment to truth is in tension with the quest
for power."
"While Senators Hillary
Clinton and John McCain were milking the opportunity to pay tribute to Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Mr. Obama chose to speak 400 miles away, in
Indiana."
Nothing in Obama's conduct comes off as
more cowardly and nonsensical than his censure of Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright on
April 29, 2008. This spectacle would not be Obama's "last hoorah" in his
campaign against those who disagree with his distorted version of racial
realities in America.
This past week, we witnessed a concerted effort by the mainstream media to
tip-toe around the issue of "white entitlement" as highlighted by Chicago's
Rev. Michael Pfleger. Instead, corporate media categorized Rev. Pfleger's
satirical skit targeting Hillary Clinton at Rev. Wright's former church as
"mockful," "incendiary," "hateful," "controversial," "unpatriotic,"
"anti-white" and "racist" - the fact that Father Pfleger is white,
notwithstanding.
Senator Obama came out fiercely opposed
to Father Pfleger (and millions of black people): "As I have
traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all
that that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's
divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or
the desire of people across America to come together in common cause."
Obama's remark
prompts me to ask: What locations have you visited in your "voyage" across the
country? What indeed is that mysterious element that unites all Americans? And,
please be specific as to who you consider Americans?
As the esteemed poet, Amiri Baraka, remarked in a speech earlier
this year, "We cannot merely stand on
the sideline and be chumped-off."
Obama's remark prompts me to ask:
What indeed is that mysterious element that unites all Americans?"
Looking back at the warning given to us by Malcolm X on
April 12, 1964, it's sad to report that most of us never bothered to hearken
our black prince's call. He warned us of our "chump-like" sensibility, and
unfortunately, we remain as sheep-like as ever. It is undeniable that our
warrior was speaking of 2008 when he said, "Anytime you throw your weight behind a political party
that controls two-thirds of the government, and that Party can't keep the
promise that it made to you during election time, and you're dumb enough to
walk around continuing to identify yourself with that Party, you're not only a
chump, but you're a traitor to your race!"
Tolu Olorunda is an 18-year-old Nigerian
immigrant and recent High School graduate living in Indiana. He is also a local
activist and writer who can be contacted at aintel7@yahoo.com.
This week’s featured author is Biko Mandela Gray. Gray is Assistant Professor of Religion at Syracuse University. His book is Black Life Matter: Blackness, Religion, and the Subject.
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