Shame on John Lewis… for Backing down: Black Leadership in Peril The Substance of Truth

And I’m not going to stand for somebody saying that because someone yelled something at a rally.”

The “dedicated,” “patriotic” men and women Sen. McCain spoke of, are those who unashamedly claim to be scared “of an Obama presidency,” because they refuse to “bring a child up in a country where… someone that cohorts with domestic terrorists such as Ayers,” would be the Commander In Chief. McCain who “rose” to Obama’s defense, calling him “decent,” was booed immediately by his mob-like audience, who would not tolerate any apologies for the Communist – otherwise known as Sen. Obama. Coming on the heels of Gov. Palin’s comments that Sen. Obama would diminish “the Prestige of the United States Presidency,” one can certainly see how enabled McCain/Palin supporters are in claiming that Sen. Obama is an “Arab” – with the backdrop that Arabs (not just Muslims) are the spawn of the Devil. Rep. Lewis’s lack of candor is a slap in the face to those who died so that a Black Man/Woman can run for the presidency without having his/her reputation dying the death of a thousand qualifications.

What Rep. John Lewis did, of course, is not an isolated item in the boutique of Civil Right heroes who have timidly abdicated their responsibility and cracked under political pressure. Earlier this year, Rev. Jesse Jackson castigated Barack Obama for “talking down to Black people.” For a man who has vilified poor Black single mothers for feeding their kids a “bag of potato chips for lunch, or Popeyes for breakfast,” and censured Black men for sitting “in the house” and watching “‘SportsCenter’ all weekend long” – while admitting to watching “a lot of SportsCenter” – “talking down” appears a tad bit mild and contained. Hypocritically condescending seems more apt. Following outrage from within the Obama camp and the Black Community, Rev. Jackson backed away from his comments, and promptly apologized to Sen. Obama. Rev. Jackson noted that his last desire was for no “harm or hurt to come to this [Obama’s] campaign,” and that his caught-on-mic comments in no way reflect “any disparagement on my part for the historic event in which we are involved or my pride in Senator Barack Obama.” In an unmistakable tone, Sen. Obama would subsequently deny Rev. Jackson the prestigious record of speaking at every DNC since 1984. Jesse Jackson Jr., whose willingness to throw his father under the bus defies the very nature of Solidarity, was skillfully placed as a substitution.

The actions of Reverend Jackson and Rep. Lewis remind us of the urgent need for unfiltered Black leadership. The Black Community is rapidly deteriorating into a dying breed, and the gift of courage is the only remedy for our perilous state. Barack Obama has often explained himself to be neither a leader, nor a statesman – especially in matters concerning Black folks and people of culture/color worldwide. Who will step up to the plate and turn this sh– around???!!!!!