“Sometimes it seems like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I’m not backing off.” — Fannie Lou Hamer
I just finished books reading (or re-reading) several books about some prominent black scholars and activists from the 19th and 20th century. As I read through the personal stories and reflections of people like Fannie Lou Hamer, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and others, what struck me about all of them is their humanity despite the inhumane times in which they lived. They were not defined by the actions of their enemies although they were all profoundly affected by them. In my youth, I wondered if I would have their courage, their certitude, if I had lived during their time. As I matured, I realized that the time in which they lived was largely irrelevant. The courage they displayed is always needed.
Each of the people I mentioned displayed a tremendous amount of courage in that they— to the greatest extent possible— embraced their humanity. Fannie Lou Hamer, who dropped out of school before she was a teenager to work on the cotton fields, went on to become one of the first black delegates to a presidential convention. She also helped start the Freedom Farms Corporation, which lent land to blacks until they had enough money to purchase the land. This was in direct contrast to the system of sharecropping which typically kept blacks in debt in perpetuity. She had a mentality that could not be limited by the limited mentality of those around her.
It takes a special kind of person to do what’s right when surrounded by so much and by so many that are wrong. These individuals, and many more who toiled in anonymity, shaped the nation we live in today. Through their individual pursuits, they changed our collective condition. Whether or not you agree with their politics is irrelevant, we all owe them a great debt. Through their “radicalism”, they created the political space that allowed individuals like Barack Obama to come to power. Unfortunately, the political space they created gave Obama the opportunity to adopt the misguided view of Black Nationalism forged in a furnace of racism and white nationalism.
Ironically, Barack Obama has benefited from their labor while simultaneously mischaracterizing their efforts in such a way to increase the toxicity of the political environment to progressive black politics. And so, we see a figure like Martin Luther King, who was wholeheartedly against American imperialism and war, being quoted by a President who promotes both. The lesson for the rest of us is clear: The story of one’s life can be rivaled by the story of one’s death since one really has no control over one’s legacy as evidenced by the way so many of King’s quotes are taken out of context. Martin Luther King’s “radicalism” was posthumously tempered by the cautionary tale of his personal death and destruction presented to others who might dare to pick up the mantle. Other “radical” elements of his life and work were sanitized or excised before they were made available for public consumption. For anyone who doubts that last statement, please pick up and read King’s last book, Where do we go from here: Chaos or community. See if his last book before he was assassinated meshes well with the 4 or 5 snippets you hear politicians use. See if they are even in the same Universe as King when they use his words.
It is in this terrible tradition of misuse and misappropriation that we were given Barack Obama. Anyone who has read his autobiography knows he has a keen intellect. In the tradition of Alex Haley’s autobiography of Malcolm X, Obama gives an honest account of his adolescent years. It isn’t always pretty, but it’s honest. The problem is that he has become a shell of his former self; necessary, some say, to ascend to the highest office in the land. Still, I can’t believe anyone who authored a book like Dreams of My Father can truly espouse the views that he does. After reading his book and seeing what he has become, one is forced to conclude that there must be audacity in surrender and hopelessness too.
It’s time to start returning to honest assessments of our politicians. Obama decided to completely abandon the people who put him in the position to become president in favor of those mainstream voters (the gun-clinging, bible-thumping kind) who hate him. He doesn’t see a black America because he’s bought into the idea of a post-racial America put forth by a media that actively tries to destroy him. Consequently, he now has very little room to talk about the kind of ugly politics and racism fomented by Republicans and Tea Party members. It’s interesting to note that there is never a problem with naming a black America when it comes to negative statistics. We can name a black America when talking about crime statistics, incarceration rates, H.I.V. infection rates or high school drop-out rates. We can talk about a black America when it comes to intellectual inferiority or an achievement gap. There is a black America when it comes to admonishing black fathers as Obama did during his address to the NAACP. There can, however, be no concrete discussion of a black America when it comes to tailoring policies to address these issues.
Obama supporters argued that we should not be critical of Obama during the campaign because, if we did, he may lose the election. “He was just playing the game,” some argued. “Once he gets into office, then he will be the man we all think he can be.” Now that he is in office, they argue that we must be silent because he has so much on his plate: multiple wars, a broken economy, health care, etc. “Besides,” they like to say, “he’s only been in office one year. It’s going to takes years before we see a real recovery. In the meantime, we need to give him a break. He’s also got to think about re-election. Once he gets re-elected, then there will be less pressure on him to conform and he’ll be the man we think he can be.” If he manages to get re-elected in 2012, let me give you a preview of the argument for saying nothing at that point. It’ll go something like this: “He can’t do anything because he’s the leader of his party and he has to make sure a democrat wins the next election. He can’t rock the boat too much because, if a republican wins, he or she might undo all the gains made by Obama.” These gains, by the way, are ones that none of his most ardent and loyal supporters will ever see. After a two year campaign and 8 years in office, we will have nothing to show for it other than ten years of silence and suffering. Moreover, we’ll be in an even weaker position to make demands of anyone who takes office. Still, some will argue, “Why say anything about Obama at all?”
There’s too much talk and not enough action.
The erroneous supposition is either that one cannot do both or that speaking out isn’t necessary. For those who like to make the point that his critics are all talk and no action, consider this: Is it likely that one will act if he or she is too afraid to even speak out? Thought should precede action. Moreover, the articulation of those thoughts can help with the thought process itself and subsequent organization efforts. The last president gave us a good example of what happens when you act without being able to think or speak. One of the reasons why so many are so easily fooled is that not enough of us speak truthfully often or loudly enough. Of course, there must be action in line with our words. This is a point that many Obama supporters make to critics, but seem unable to make to the 
president himself. They also like to ask, “Where were you before Obama became president?” The implication here is that what they perceive to be a surge in activism wasn’t present before Obama. These individuals were largely ignorant of the many anti-war groups that protested against President Bush and the government for putting us on the path of war that, at the very least, contributed to the current economic crisis. They also probably couldn’t tell you about more conscious individuals like Cynthia McKinney who were on the ballot, but largely and purposely ignored by the mainstream media. For Obama supporters, voting for Obama somehow makes them qualified to question any critically-thinking person’s commitment to positive and progressive change.
In many ways, Barack Obama is precisely the problem with the black community. He is as responsible for the moral and intellectual rot we’ve seen in the last few decades as any “gangsta rapper” or basketball player. He represents the death of the Civil Rights era and, to that end, he’s facing very little resistance. He’s accomplished something that no president (or anyone for that matter) has been able to do. He’s largely secured our unconditional surrender. To speak “critically” (read honestly) of him is tantamount to a death sentence in the white-controlled black media. The rules for black people are crystal clear: 1) we must be silent in our suffering with regard to him. 2) We must not be critical of the person who quotes the very best of us while continuing the policies of the very worst. 3) Individual success is far more important than aggregate success. His example shows us that the fate of every black man, woman and child pales in comparison to the opportunity of one African-American to become president. And yet, we shake our head when a mainstream rapper displays the same kind of drive for personal gain and a furious disregard for the lives of black children or the black community. We should admonish a rapper for sacrificing the best interests of impressionable young people for personal gain, but we also have to admonish Rev. Wright for advocating for those very same young people because it might sacrifice the gains of one person. Sometimes I think the ball players and rappers may be the least lost among us.
As bad as our situation looks right now, I am still optimistic. There is still a chance to break the ever-tightening strangle hold we find ourselves in. We should all strive to become a little more forward thinking in light of what’s already happened. If we start to be truthful with ourselves, we can anticipate many of the things on the horizon and take action to prevent them. What can we expect in the future? Well, we can expect increasingly tight elections. Barack Obama has made a calculated decision to ignore the plight of the black community. Please keep the following in mind: Barack Obama won his office because of the near unanimous support of black people. It’s true that he wouldn’t have won without white support. But it’s also true that he wouldn’t have won without black support. Barack Obama won the 2008 election by around 8 million votes. There were a little more than 16 million Black people who voted according to government census reports1. If even there were a 3 to 1 split for
the John McCain (repugnant but requisite for the argument), then we are looking at a dead heat as far as the popular vote. He needed us to win and he’ll need us to win again. He and his handlers are betting that 1) black people will not substantially vote for a Republican (which is true) and 2) black people don’t have the courage or intelligence to vote for a third party candidate who would actually represent our interests.
There’s a chance that such a split from the Democratic Party could result in a Republican win, but that is precisely the outcome that puts political pressure on parties to address the needs of those whom they wish to elicit support. The politically mature understand this strategy. More importantly, we need to support a third party that will do a better job of addressing the issues affecting black people in this country. Let me put in terms that should allay the fears of even his most ardent supporters. If Obama doesn’t win, what’s the worse that will happen? We’ll have to look forward to a president who will ignore our issues and will turn a blind eye to us as more and more of us face destruction. How would it be different if he wins? We have every right to support independent candidates and we must do so.
I must admit that their (Obama and his handlers) calculation about black people is probably correct. We must remember, however, that as the greatest wealth loss in history among Blacks and Latinos happens under his watch, and more and more of us are relocated to the group homes, the shelters, the streets and the prisons, he’s going to be dealing with a hugely depressed, disenfranchised and disillusioned voting bloc. He’s going to lose some of his strongest supporters along with the fair weather independent voters he wasn’t going to keep anyway. He’s banking that black people will continue to tolerate the disrespect. Unfortunately, he’ has good reason to do so. According to the recent Pew study2, black people believe that their lot is improving at nearly twice the rate as the period preceding Obama’s election and the economic collapse. There’s a clear disconnect here. It is a gap that I hope to bridge by getting you to actually think about what you’re doing and honestly assess what’s going on around you.
Thinking back to those giant figures like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, one can see that they strived to do what was right even when it wasn’t convenient or personally advantageous to do so. And so, the very least I can do is continue to speak honestly and openly about these issues. Someone has to do it. Someone has to prove that black people are, in fact, bipedal: These hands aren’t just a second pair of feet! I will continue to mentor, volunteer and do all the things I was doing long before Barack Obama was selected as president and put before us as a role model. I understand that we don’t need any more individual black powerbrokers or figureheads. We don’t need any more black executives that represent companies who prey on black people with subprime mortgages or accept corporate welfare and reward their employees with lavish gifts and bonuses. We don’t need any more black wardens, black generals or even black presidents. We need to start thinking about long-term success instead of focusing solely on short-term, infinitesimal gain. We need a radical transformation of infrastructure. We need to control the educational and economic pipelines in our community.
We must become master of our own fate.
References:
- http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2008/tables.html
- http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/749/blacks-upbeat-about-black-progress-obama-election
Article by Anthony Gayle
Anthony Gayle is a community college professor. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics, with a concentration in Biology, from Clarkson University, and an M.S. in Education from Binghamton University. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Mathematics-Education. In his spare time, he serves as a volunteer math tutor for the South Baltimore Learning Center, and as a mentor for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
Anthony has written 8 article(s) for us.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Ask yourself who is the biggest consumer by ratio in this country… Then if you wonder where our money is spent you have already found your answer..until we stop equating value of ourselves with material possessions and outlandish spending, we will never have built up anything.
Its not Obama fault, we need to quit sticking our hand out for it to get slapped. How long we gone keep getting hurt by a government who has never looked to give us anything. We need to put that hand in our pocket and hold onto our money and then with resources being saved then we can amass power.
wow. thats was damn well thought out and you really went in on the president. sheesh. well written, good article.
the only thing i can say is obama is a politician. he is not an activist. Its a little unfair to compare him to people willing to lose their lives because as you pointed out he doesnt even want to lose future elections for his party, much less his own re-election in 2012. I think people expect too much of obama. when mlk et al were doing their thing i dont think it was a large part of their strategy to criticize the president. they organized at the grass roots level. we cant expect obama to do things we should be doing. i tend to think obama would help us more than other presidents, in terms of grants and legislation, if we came correctly with a movement instead of coming foul with complaints. my two.
Wow BBD…I'm in complete agreement.
I'm generally pretty miffed that while folks tend complain that Obama is deified by many, those same complainers want him to ACT like said deity and bring peace to the middle east etc at the drop of a dime. You can't have both and he can't be both. Obama is NOT the Great Black Hope.
I enjoyed your article, and I think you have a lot of good points. However, I’m gonna say this, there is too much money in the black community, for us to be complaining and begging the government for anything.
Things are never going to completely change in America, we will never be the same as whites, but what we can have is America’s respect. Americans still hate the Jews, however they respect because of their united power. Until, blacks can come and use the united power we have, we will never receive any respect in this country, even with a black president.
I do agree with a lot of what he says but can’t agree with the anti-black comments. Obama is a politician and never was “The Great Black Hope” He was and still is a better president and man than any of the “Rethugclicans”. He can’t possibly be everything to everybody and never promised to champion a black agenda. He has always spoken about his concern for Middle Class Americans because we are what kept this country growing because of the previous administrations policies now all people except the very rich are suffering. There can be no help/hope for the poor no matter what race if there is no chance for them to reach middle class because it no longer exists.