Analysis: The Spirit of Jim Crow is Alive and Well in the USA

But this and similar incidents that take place every day illustrate that we are far from being a post-racial society. Targeting black men as ‘suspicious’ has long been a problem in Massachusetts law enforcement. (Emphasis Added)

—“— ”—“What Gatesgate tells us about the persistent tenacity of racist forms in American life (simultaneously alongside an important decline in America’s racist forms as President Obama’s election indicates), was pointed out by the president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund—John Payton. In an article titled “Can You Trust The Police? The Skip Gates Incident” published in the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Online magazine, The Defenders Online (July 21, 2009), Payton observed that Cambridge police officer James Crowley was acting cavalierly “on the premise that police should be obeyed.” Indeed says Payton, “the officer was not invited [in Gates’ home] and was, arguably, not authorized to enter Skip’s home.” Payton continued his legal critique of Gatesgate thus:

—“——— Finally, an important analytical observation to present in this subsection discussion of the broad-based dimensions of Gatesgate’s harsh light on persistent racist patterns is to draw attention to two crucial aspects of police racial-profiling behavior. One crucial aspect relates to the numerous racial-profiling incidents that still affect African-American citizens, especially African-American males. A second crucial aspect relates to the incredibly wide perceptions among African-American citizens regarding the persistence of police racial-profiling behavior toward them.”—“

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—“——— Excellent Poll Data on the topic of police racial-profiling behavior can be found in a perceptive article on Gatesgate by the African-American New York Times statistician,” Charles Blow, titled “Welcome To The ‘Club’”, in the New York Times (July 25, 2009). In overall nationwide terms, Charles Blow’s article reports the following:

—“—— Also as of mid-2008, some 43% of all African-Americans said yes to the poll query- “Have you ever felt you were stopped by the police just because of your race or ethnic background?” Charles Blow’s New York Times article also offered data from a probe of police racial-profiling behavior in New York city, saying that “last year the Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York law firm specializing in human rights, released a damning study of the racial-profiling practices of the New York Police Department.” The study uncovered the following:

—“—— Thus the hard evidence regarding police racial-profiling harassment of African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans, is extensive. The New York Times statistician Charles Blow’s evidence presented above covers 2008, and if we hazard a guess based on the Gatesgate incident of police racial-profiling practice, there’s every reason to think that nationwide police racial-profiling harassment of African-Americans in 2009 remains significant.

GATESGATES’ HARSH LIGHT ON RACISM: (II) PRESIDENT OBAMA’S IMPACT

”—“ Accordingly, inasmuch as police racial-profiling vis-a-vis Black people generally remains significant today, I concur with the argument presented by the New York Times African-

American columnist Bob Herbert, in his New York Times (August 1, 2009) column titled “Anger Has Its Place.” Bob Herbert introduced his cogent and fervent critique of police racial-profiling in general and in regard to Gatesgate in particular thus:—“— ”—“

”—“ In the foregoing observation on Gatesgate, Bob Herbert affirms my” interpretive vantage point on Gatesgate—namely, that Professor Henry Louis Gates was a victim of police racial-profiling behavior. When referring” to President Barack Obama’s comment on Gatesgate at his prime-time televised press conference on Wednesday July 22, 2009, Bob Herbert’s column is supportive of Obama’s criticism of Gatesgate, supportive of President Obama’s observation that in arresting Professor Gates the Cambridge police “acted stupidly”. Herbert is also supportive of President Obama’s comment that the country can draw useful lessons regarding our racial legacy from Gatesgate.

—“—— However, Bob Herbert remarks that” within two days following President Obama’s gut-level comment on Gatesgate, a virtual tsunami of antipathy spread among millions of White Americans toward President Obama’s comment that Cambridge police “acted stupidly”. Bob Herbert is absolutely fervent in his critical commentary on the conservative reaction of millions of White citizens and of conservative media pundits President Obama’s original gut-level comment on the arrest of Professor Gates. As Bob Herbert put it in his New York Times column:

—“—— “Mind you, Bob Herbert had his own list of” useful lessons to be drawn from Gatesgate for advancing race relations. For instance, Herbert observed that “You can yell at a cop in America. This is not Iran. …You can even be wrong in what you are saying. There is no law against that. It is not an offense for which you are supposed to be arrested. That’s a lesson that should have emerged clearly from this [Gates-Crowley] contretemps.” Another lesson Herbert had in mind was that Gatesgate could help White Americans face up to the massive evidence that police racial-profiling behavior injures millions of African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. Here’s how Bob Herbert put it:

—“—— That Bob Herbert” column– “Anger Has Its Place” in the New York Times (August 1, 2009)– caught my attention vividly. Why? Because as a keen follower of Herbert’s liberal-reformist writings, the August 1st” article” was perhaps the most ideologically progressive of his articles. Herbert used his August 1st article to characterize the reactionary racial profiling arrest of Professor Gates in an unmistakably progressive manner. He” used his column to implore Black folks to speak-out-against racial profiling harassment in all of its nefarious forms:

—“——— The foregoing was the second-to-last paragraph in Bob Herbert’s New York Times (August 1, 2009) column, and progressive as its message to reverse police racial-profiling and especially the consequence of massive African-American male incarceration rate (nearly 1 million inhabit the country’s prison system) was, Bob Herbert had an additional coda in tow, so to speak. That coda related to Herbert’s seemingly strong feeling that , in the ninth year of 21st century American society, “Most whites do not want to hear about racial problems….”” (Emphasis Added)

—“—— In this progressive critique of millions of White Americans’ persistent indifference to racial problems in our country, Bob Herbert joins a similar observation recently made by the cultural studies analyst Professor Michael Dyson of Georgetown University, who observed regarding Gatesgate” in the USA Today (July 24, 2009)” that “Whites don’t live with the daily knowledge that their children may be arbitrarily subjected to police brutality or profiling”.

—“—— And while this feeling on Herbert’s part depresses him no end,” he is also depressed by the downside of President Obama’s” impact on Gatesgate. The negative side of Obama’s impact on Gatesgate stemmed from his inability to standby his initial gut-level comment on Professor Gates’ arrest (namely, that the Cambridge police “acted stupidly”), preferring instead to pander to White attitudes,— Here’s how Bob Herbert formulated his concerns regarding President Obama’s retreat from his original gut-level response to Gatesgate at his July 22nd press conference: “…President Obama would rather walk through fire than” spend his time dealing with them [our country’s racial problems].—“ (Emphasis Added)

”—“ Following this observation on what might be called President Obama’s problematic ideological interface with our country’s racial problems, Bob Herbert, gives expression to an unmistakably” depressive feeling toward America’s persistent racial problems. He does this by articulating” a rather dire prediction. Namely:— “We’re never going to have a serious national conversation about race.” (Emphasis Added)

WHITES’ ANTIPATHY TO GATESGATE &— OBAMA’S INITIAL REACTION

—“— To the multi-millions of liberal and progressive African-American citizens here in the first decade of 21st century American society (that is, those 17 million African-Americans who voted for the Obama-Biden ticket in November 2008),” I say let’s hope” that the dire prediction by the” New York Times columnist Bob Herbert’s is wrong. I say this because as a leftist African-American intellectual who considers himself an ideological disciple of” Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I prefer to hope that the still high-level indifference among many Whites toward seriously grappling with and rectifying our country’s” persistent racist patterns,— can be overcome.

—“—— No doubt, there is a sizable segment of White Americans who fashioned antipathy toward Professor Henry Louis Gates for what I call standing-his-ground and defending his African-American honor against racial-profiling police in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Furthermore, this antipathy against Professor Gates among multi-millions of White Americans—antipathy aided by rightwing pundits on major television networks such as Fox New (pundits like Glenn Beck) and CNN Cable News (pundits like Lou Dobbs)”has extended to President Barack Obama because of” his gut-level criticism of Cambridge police at his July 22nd press conference. As a result, within several days of his gut-level criticism (Cambridge police “acted stupidly”) President Obama back-peddled to a” politically bland and pallid position, causing him to twist-and-turn on Gatesgate so as to regain approvability among a sizable segment of White Americans.

—“—— However, a report in the Boston Globe (July 31, 2009) related that” “A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press [taken July 22-26] … indicated” that the president’s approval ratings among whites slipped from 53 percent late last week to 46 percent early this week.—“ Another report in the USA Today (July 31, 2009)” related the following: “There are signs that the [Gatesgate] incident” has damaged Obama politically. A poll by the non-partisan Pew Research Center found that 41% disapproved of Obama’s handling of the Gates’ controversy, compared with 29% who approved.

—“—— The USA Today (July 31, 2009) news report also related additional bad news for President Obama. Namely, that his approval ratings “fell especially among working class whites [and]…among whites in general, more disapprove than approve of his [“acted stupidly”] comments by a 2-1 ratio.—“ Now whether the Gatesgate-sparked antipathy among some two-fifths of White citizens toward President Obama today will translate into antiObama electoral responses by such White citizens in the 2012 presidential election remains to be seen.”

CONCLUSION: IMPORTANCE OF THE BLACK VOTER BLOC IN THE OBAMA ERA”

—“——— A politically ominous event with regard to the attitudes of” a significant segment of White citizens toward President Obama occurred in early September 2009. Just two” months after the Gatesgate affair receded as top-level television and newspaper item, a rightwing Republican member of the House of” Representatives from South Carolina—Congressman Joe Wilson” violated the decorum rules governing the United States Congress by shouting “you lie” at President Obama during his nationally televised address to the Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday, September 9. Such patent disrespect” by members of Congress toward a president addressing Congress is a monstrous violation of the U.S. Congress’ rules of decorum and is therefore forbidden.

—“—— Happily, thanks to the leadership of the Black Congressional Caucus—especially its highest ranking figure, Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina” Representative Joe Wilson was formally reprimanded” for publicly insulting President Obama. As the House Resolution of September 15, 2009 rebuking Representative Joe Wilson put it:

—“—— Owing to the presence of some 42 African-American members of the U.S. House of Representatives and to their congressional organization called the Black Congressional Caucus, it was possible for the Democratic Party-controlled Congress to officially condemn what I and millions of other African-Americans view as South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson’s racist-inspired disrespect toward President Obama. Of course, on one level this was just a symbolic official victory defending the honor of the first African-American president of the United States against racist posturing by a White member of the United States Congress . However, on the broader level of the post -Civil Rights Movement era of the American political system, the House of Representatives’ reprimand of Representative Joe Wilson” was a substantive victory in defense of Black people’s honor in American society.

—“—— Thus, in this connection, it is important to point out here the effective maximal Black Voter Bloc electoral mobilization that occurred during the 2008 presidential election. First, some 17 million-plus African-Americans voted in 2008. Second, this amounted to a massive vote turnout by African-Americans—some 65% of” eligible Black voters. “A proportion that some post-Election Surveys claim was several percentage points higher that the turnout of eligible White voters , while other post-Election Surveys claim that the Black voter turnout was several percentage points lower than the White turnout. Be that as it may, it is patently clear that the Black Voter Bloc voted at an historically high level in the 2008 election.

”—“ Finally, it is especially important to point out that the Black Voter Bloc supported the 2008 Obama-Biden Democratic ticket at 90% level. I argue in a chapter on the Black Voter Bloc role in the 2008 election that will appear in a forthcoming New York University Press book edited by the University of California-Berkeley political scientist Professor Charles Henry, that it was this 90% level of Black Voter Bloc support for the Obama-Biden ticket (in key “battle ground states” like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, etc.)that ensured Obama’s election to the White House.

—“—— Alas.” Here in November 2009—12 months after Obama’s victorious election as president—dark political clouds hang over the Obama Administration. It is struggling to pass its high-priority healthcare legislation. Also the approval rating of President Obama has , for the first time since his Inauguration, fallen below 50% in several polls. Accordingly, the upcoming November 2010 Congressional Election takes on a very special significance for the Obama Administration’s ability to achieve crucial legislation during the second half of its tenure in office, especially legislation that will help reverse the weak job market in the country. Some 10.5% of Americans are unemployed and the jobless rate facing African-Americans is at Depression level—15.5%. And when you add the “underemployment rate” , the full -jobless crisis for African-Americans is between 30% and 35%!

—“—— Thus, one important electoral dimension of all of this is patently clear. Namely, the Black Voter Bloc’s high-level electoral mobilization in 2008 will have to be repeated in the November 2010 Election. If” in the upcoming 2010 Election the Democratic congressional candidates can hold on to” a small majority of White voters’ support “in combination with a high-level mobilization of the Black Voter Bloc—the outcome of the 2010 Election could be favorable to the Obama Administration’s ability to achieve crucial legislation during the second half of its tenure in office.