Novmber
13, 2008 - Issue 299 |
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Barack
Obama: The Test of Black CommUNITY The Substance of Truth By Tolu Olorunda BlackCommentator.com Columnist |
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The Black CommUNITY has laid its bed and must now lie in it. To be sure, this author is not particularly pleased with the 95% level of unconditional support from the Black CommUNITY, vis-à-vis Obama’s presidential bid. Nevertheless, Obama’s unpredictable popularity within the Black CommUNITY is a testament to an often glossed over, deep-seated desire/potential for divine unity of the Black CommUNITY. Obama’s candidacy, thankfully, buttressed this reality in unequivocal terms. Many have privately joked, over the past week, about the seeming impossibility of the Black CommUNITY agreeing on any specific agenda, let alone a political one. Some have quipped that the last time such unprecedented levels of support was rendered in favor of anything, O.J. Simpson was on trial for double murder. The comedic value of such statement notwithstanding, its veracity is unquestionable. Having rallied around this man, with unwavering support, let there be no more excuses for our disunity, or inability to remain unified around the ultimate cause: Total liberation. On at least three key issues, the world will need the assistance of the Black CommUNITY to emerge victorious: AFRICOM, GLOBAL POVERTY and RACIAL INEQUALITY. On
Africom, a militarization and heist of On
Global Poverty, Sen. Obama has been extremely vague when addressing
the plight of the impoverished. Ever since Sen. John Edwards dropped
out of the presidential race, the issue of poverty dissipated into a
nameless agenda. Edwards’ campaign of highlighting the ranging disparities
between the Two Americas, as he called it, swiftly found itself
under the rug. With John Edwards’ disappearance, following news of his extramarital
deeds.
Sen. Obama, having arduously solicited Edwards’s endorsement in the
primaries, saw no more use for the man who launched
his campaign in Hurricane-stricken Racial Inequality has been, regrettably, sidelined in the course of the 2008 presidential bid. One esteemed newspaper would, upon Obama’s victory, declare racism a “myth.” The Black CommUNITY is, however, not amused. For a people who have suffered the brutal tyranny of oppression for centuries, such uninformed inferences are only a sobering reminder of the daunting task ahead. In the course of Obama’s presidency, there will be those who would seek to use a Black presidency as the avenue to make claims that Blacks have overcome every impediment put in way of their progress. The appropriate response should be to confront such challenges to our humanity head-on, but to also keep in remembrance our duty to achieve racial equality for every faction of society whose livelihood is daily suppressed by the egomaniacal appetite of big money corporations. We must side with our Latin-American brothers/sisters, and encourage them to fight, even harder, for the God-given right to a livable wage. We must, as well, consider the dignity of our Arab brethren as sacrosanct. Any and all attempts to dismiss their integrity should be forcefully admonished. The beauty of the Black CommUNITY lies in its inherent ability to fight on behalf of those who once oppressed it. If
President-Elect Obama’s recent
appointments are any signal, it is clear that our unity is the only
strategy capable of guaranteeing stability in the next 4 years. If we
end up, 4 years from now, in worse shape than we are now, the blame
must be squarely placed on our shoulders. Mass organizing, unrivaled
in human history, seems to be the only solution for the dilapidated
levels of humanity in which our people are presently entrenched. It
would be a shame, a damn shame, if our judgment is clouded by the emotional
pull of a Black presidency. Change certainly doesn’t come by wishing
or hoping – the civil rights movement taught us that. It is written
in one of the holy books, that “Faith without works is dead.” The neo-liberal
fan base has displayed, following Obama’s victory, a sheer unwillingness
to question, let alone to criticize, let alone to condemn any policies
of an Obama administration, deemed deleterious to the internationally
disenfranchised society. BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member
and Columnist, Dr. Lenore Daniels, expressed concern about this in her
Election
Special column, stating:
“The day after, the Black Philadelphians on BlackCommentator.com Columnist, Tolu Olorunda, is an 18-year-old local activist/writer and a Nigerian immigrant. Click here to reach Mr. Olorunda. |
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