Black Amerikans cried, prayed and voted for Obama after Amerika approved of him. Previously, they hadn’t believed a Black man could contend with white candidates and much less, win despite their short run of success. The majority of Amerikans wanted to believe that a man could come and save them from tyranny, high fuel prices, escalated unemployment, and the dwindling dollar. Once the idea of a Black man in the WhiteHouse circulated the people immediately began to upgrade the image of Obama to that of a Black Messiah. Cool! Perhaps, he was more of a black Superman. Yeah! That’s it. The Black community relieved him of any responsibility to the people who looked like him, walked like him, enjoyed the same tastes in food, praised the lord like him or felt the weight of negro expectations like him.
The negro leaders wanted the world to know that Black folks were not monolithic and that a few negroes had arrived. Such negroes were not interested in Obama addressing “black issues” because Obama was running for president of the United States and not of Black Amerika. Obama had an easy ride by avoiding the “white man’s burden”. And few realized that he would not have to tackle “black issues” at a later date. Once elected, he could be indifferent. Of course, this is baffling for any Black man born to a Black woman and having endured the stuff that black skin attracts; who sleeps with an intelligent, beautiful, shapely Black woman and who admits to being an Afrikan-Amerikan. It is known that Obama’s mother was caucasian, but the melanin is there. He is an Amerikan and proudly, an Afrikan (Kenyan). However, his blackness has attracted experiences that warrant his attention to the plight of Black folks in Amerika. It is utterly wrong for anyone to advise the president or any other Black person in a position of prominence or elected capacity to ignore the disenfranchised, marginalized, downtrodden people who get inspiration from the success of someone who looks like them and assumingly, thinks like them. It should be impossible for anyone of color to be indifferent when anyone is suffering. After all, Black folk - the world over - have a record of compassion that cannot be matched.
Last word – the president is a brotha. He can’t deny it despite the race of his mother, but Amerika forgets this fact, daily. Some things aren’t as obvious as others. If he is truly indifferent, it may not be due to his anglo roots, but more to the tests of time he has survived and the influences of negroes who wish to deny their blackness.
The negro leaders wanted the world to know that Black folks were not monolithic and that a few negroes had arrived. Such negroes were not interested in Obama addressing “black issues” because Obama was running for president of the United States and not of Black Amerika. Obama had an easy ride by avoiding the “white man’s burden”. And few realized that he would not have to tackle “black issues” at a later date. Once elected, he could be indifferent. Of course, this is baffling for any Black man born to a Black woman and having endured the stuff that black skin attracts; who sleeps with an intelligent, beautiful, shapely Black woman and who admits to being an Afrikan-Amerikan. It is known that Obama’s mother was caucasian, but the melanin is there. He is an Amerikan and proudly, an Afrikan (Kenyan). However, his blackness has attracted experiences that warrant his attention to the plight of Black folks in Amerika. It is utterly wrong for anyone to advise the president or any other Black person in a position of prominence or elected capacity to ignore the disenfranchised, marginalized, downtrodden people who get inspiration from the success of someone who looks like them and assumingly, thinks like them. It should be impossible for anyone of color to be indifferent when anyone is suffering. After all, Black folk - the world over - have a record of compassion that cannot be matched.
Last word – the president is a brotha. He can’t deny it despite the race of his mother, but Amerika forgets this fact, daily. Some things aren’t as obvious as others. If he is truly indifferent, it may not be due to his anglo roots, but more to the tests of time he has survived and the influences of negroes who wish to deny their blackness.
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