A good piece in today's
Washington Post discusses a few issues that
Barack Obama has been highlighting on the campaign trail:
Sen. Barack Obama is delivering pointed critiques of the African American community as he campaigns for its votes, lamenting that many of his generation are "disenfranchising" themselves because they don't vote, taking rappers to task for their language, and decrying "anti-intellectualism" in the black community, including black children telling peers who get good grades that they are "acting white."
The achievement gap between races is a major, major issue for our country, and one that isn't being adequately addressed by any other current candidate. Of course, race itself is one reason why. Can you imagine the outcry if
Rudy Giuliani or
Bill Richardson approached this matter as directly as Obama while standing at the pulpit of a black church? Not everybody in the African American community, however, is thrilled to hear Obama's thesis.
The gap is "not because black 7-year-olds are holding back other black 7-year-olds," said Melissa V. Harris-Lacewell, a professor of African American studies at Princeton University. "This black pathology argument is appealing, but I think he's wrong empirically."
But Obama's call for self-examination is, by and large, being very well received as he travels the country. It's no wonder, really, given the disparity of
incarceration and
infant mortality rates between blacks and whites, that people want change and have grown weary of waiting for others to give it to them. In fact, more than a century after slavery, nearly every
economic,
educational, and
physical health indicator puts African Americans at a marked disadvantage. As Obama puts it, "There's an old saying that if America has a cold, we have pneumonia." What I like about Obama is that when he speaks he doesn't seem much like an actor at all.
Reader Comments ( Page 7 of 7)
91. I agree with Barack! The Democrat party has, for years, tried to keep Black Americans on Welfare so they could buy their votes with a Welfare check!
They really need to start looking at people like Barack, Condi Rice, Colin Powell, Michael Steele and others as role-models and not as Uncle Toms!
People like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson should be ashamed for being race pimps!
TommyMun at 8:58PM on Jun 9th 2007
92. America, when we were being hoodwinked, bamboozled and conned, Obama stood alone and said no to an unjust war in Iraq that should have never been waged. This is called vision and insight. This is the character of person I want to rally behind. What about you?
Sasha Reece at 12:13PM on Jul 2nd 2007
93. As Americans, no matter our race creed or color, we should take the presidential election seriously and actually listen to the ideas that the candidates put forth. Unfortunately, we are spending way too much time on incidentals such as race, sex and religion. This is a critical time for out country and anyone with a shred of common sense should listen to all of the agendas before making a choice.
That said, As a Black, female, baby boomer, middle-aged, divorced, college educated citizen of the United States, with all of the lables that set me apart and those that enjoin me with othercitizens who care about our country and our planet...My preferences are Obama and/or Clinton. They just make the most sense to me. The Republicans come across as mean spirited, selfish and uncaring of our country's image, the poor, the middle class and fairness issues that affect our daily lives.
Trene at 5:49PM on Oct 27th 2007