We have to fess up ya’ll. Obama is not Black, he’s just black. He can’t say his great-great grandparents were slaves or that his parents suffered under Jim Crow in the South. And we feel a little bitter-sweet about it. Admit it.
Obama is a person of color who is on the national stage and has a shot to be the leader of the free world. That’s the sweetness we share with people of color around the world.
However, we all know and feel that if Obama had the background described above, even more African-Americans would be vocal about their support for Obama. We know that Obama’s ready acceptance by White America implicitly says that America still does not accept Us and the history it helped create. America is still uncomfortable about its original sin and We are upset about it. I (rich) think that those African-American “leaders” who are reluctant to fully embrace Obama are expressing this sentiment. This is our bitterness and ours alone.
We are afraid to say that we are disappointed that there is no Black candidate as viable as Obama. We are disappointed at ourselves for not producing such a person. Most of all, We are disappointed at America. Despite of it all, we shouldn’t take it out on Obama. If you like him, support him. If you don’t, then don’t. Just don’t withhold support for him based on this complex issue of being Black in America.
Filed under: Culture
