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Nels
Veteran Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 671
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 03:21 pm: | 
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GREGORY RODRIGUEZ
Los Angeles Times Columinist
Is Obama the new 'black'?
December 17, 2006
WE KNOW this: Barack Obama is a rising star. He's a powerful speaker and a gifted writer. He is the only African American serving in the U.S. Senate. But is he black?
That's what New York Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch asked last month, and his answer was decidedly "no." No, Crouch wasn't just employing the old "blacker than thou" canard. Nor was he concerned with the fact that Obama was raised by his white mother. Rather, he was treating blackness not just as a racial (shared biology) identity but as an ethnic (shared
historical experience) one. And isn't that what the switch of terms from "black" to "African American" was all about?
Think back to the late 1980s, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson became the most prominent black to call for the adoption of the term African American. "Just as we were called colored, but were not that," he said, "and then Negro, but not that, to be called black is just as baseless…. Every
ethnic group in this country has a reference to some land base, some historical
cultural base. African Americans have hit that level of maturity." The problem, of course, is that most black Americans are descendants of slaves who had their African cultural heritage brutally stripped from them.
What Crouch is arguing is that what the majority of black Americans share is their ancestors' experience as human chattel, brought to these shores in the grips of chains. Slavery and segregation not only forged a rigid racial line between black and white but created a shared ethnic experience. For Crouch, the fact that Obama's father — whom Obama met only
once — was a black Kenyan who came to the U.S. to study at Harvard and the University of Hawaii removes him from the traditional black American narrative.
Author and essayist Debra Dickerson agrees. She believes that much of Obama's popularity among whites stems from the fact that his family wasn't part of the slave experience and therefore elicits no feelings of historical guilt. "The swooning from white people is a paroxysm of
self-congratulation," she said. But Dickerson also thinks that Obama's thoughtful embrace of his African lineage has the potential to broaden the definition of what it means to be black in the United States. Indeed, the possibility of an Obama campaign for the presidency has already sparked an unusual — and potentially illuminating — debate about race.
It's true that in our country, blackness is not a choice but rather something thrust on people who have any hint of African lineage. Traditionally, anyone with "one drop of African blood" has been considered black. But in recent decades, more children of black-white unions are
choosing to buck the "one-drop rule" and call themselves biracial.
But in this respect, Obama is a traditionalist. He clearly chooses a black identity, but he does so even as he embraces his Midwestern Anglo roots. In other words, rather than straddling two identities or creating a new mixed one, he prefers to place himself within a single category and
then expand it. In his lyrical yet interminable 1995 memoir, "Dreams From My Father," Obama tells of his journey toward accepting his absent father's legacy and coming to terms with his feelings of alienation from both sides of his family tree. Ultimately rejecting old-fashioned racial
nationalism and narrow notions of authenticity, Obama encourages Americans to accept their messy racial inheritance. And though he admits that his personal story bears little resemblance to that of most African American families, he chose to graft his own personal story onto theirs.
The one-drop rule was developed to protect slavery and to maintain segregation. By defining all mixed children as black and compelling them to live in black communities, the rule enabled whites to believe in the fantasy of their own racial purity. By extension, blacks also came to
embrace rigid notions of their relative purity from whiteness.
BUT LOOK closely at the historical record and you'll find that plenty of prominent black political figures were at least half white, including Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington. In addition to his African ancestry, W.E.B. Du Bois could trace his roots back to France and the
Netherlands. During Reconstruction, all but three of the 23 blacks in the House and Senate were some mixture of black and white. The list goes on.
The difference between now and then, of course, is the element of choice. Barack Obama does not remind Americans of the racial divide or of the chains that first created it. Instead, he points to an alternative history that Americans have never been able to achieve. "Symbolically, Obama's
parentage is the founding couple that America never accepted," said Werner Sollors, who teaches African American literature at Harvard.
Crouch is right: Obama does not remind us of this nation's original sin. But he does remind us of an opportunity that we as a nation are continually missing.
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Eastwest
Regular Poster
Username: Eastwest
Post Number: 108
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 04:01 pm: |
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I got a Strange feeling about Barack Obama
If Obama ever makes to the White House,
I predict that He will be assassinated by
a black american not a white person.
I have nothing against the guy but a back lash is coming. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 6770
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 04:49 pm: |
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Provocative article. Barak Obama is a catylyst that will set off unprecendented forces. He is also a lightning rod for controversy. Finally, he is a man of destiny the embodiment of Africa and Europe, arguably the best of what both continents represent. |
Nels
Veteran Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 674
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 09:03 pm: |
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Eastwest --
"He will be assassinated by a black american"
An excellent observation, indeed. |
Lil_ze
Veteran Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 671
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - 11:58 pm: |
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i think all this "barak for president" talk is for naught.
does anyone REALLY think this country would elect the son of an african immigrant named BARAK OBAMA to be the commander and cheif of america.
lets not kid ourselves. this guy will NEVER be president of the united states. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 3034
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 12:12 am: |
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I agree Z - The name is a problem. Sounds too much like Osama. If his name were more traditional like Thomas Jefferson or something he'd probably have a better chance.
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Lil_ze
Veteran Poster
Username: Lil_ze
Post Number: 672
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 01:30 am: |
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yes, mzuri.
i mean just think about RUDY GULLIANI.
here is a white man who could NEVER be elected president (imo) because his last name is just TOO italian sounding.
now imagine a son of an african immigrant with a name like BARAK OBAMA.
the powers that be in this country MUST have a W.A.S.P in control of things.
if you are not an anglo-saxon prodestant male, you can pretty much forget about being president of the united states.
this is just the reality we live in. |
Yvettep
Veteran Poster
Username: Yvettep
Post Number: 1578
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 10:29 am: |
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My crystal ball-not based on any true "facts"-hunch:
He, himself, knows this. But he also knows that he could cause enough of a stir to garner a bunch of political chips that will make him even more powerful in his current job.
Also, there may be the legacy factor of being written in history books as the first serious Black contender... |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 6777
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 02:06 pm: |
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I never thought about it, but Obama's name really does work against him, doesn't it? The Western world gets very nervous about Islamic overtones as witnessed by how all of the conspiracy buffs think that Princess Diana was murdered because if her muslim boyfriend Dodi Fayed impregnanted her, there could a Arab, who as the half-brother of 2 princes, could have access to the British throne. |
Tonya
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 4091
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 02:35 pm: |
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Blacks leaders slow to respond, but say Obama presidential exploratory committee is a good idea
by Demetrius Patterson, Chicago Defender
January 18, 2007
http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/local.cfm?ArticleID=8173 |
Kola_boof
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 4073
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 03:04 pm: |
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CYNIQUE, you're totally right.
His name is a liability.
I love Obama and wish he could find acceptance from American blacks, but I know how they are when an African gets too high up in their midst.
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 7907
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 03:16 pm: |
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Kola,
I really NOT see a problem with African Americans supporting Obama. Not in the LEAST bit. Hell. I know Black foks who are wholly apolitical who are really HOPING he runs and are offering to volunteer to help him win. |
Kola_boof
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 4077
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 03:41 pm: |
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You're probably right ABM.
The media puts their SPIN on what they want us to think.
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 7915
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 04:18 pm: |
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Kola,
I honestly do NOT think he'll have problem obtaining the support of Black people. If anything, he may have to be careful that there are so many Black foks fawning over him that it scares away the suburban soccer mom vote. |
Kola_boof
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 4085
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 04:44 pm: |
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So true, ABM.
The media LIES on black people so much. It's like they try to TELL US what to think/believe about a situation.
I damn sure know they've done that with me/my image. They write me like a fu cking cartoon character who doesn't really exist.
So that I don't.
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Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 7920
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 05:34 pm: |
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Kola,
Well. I should say there are some Black foks who concern me. It's those foks who've been in the Friends of Bill & Hillary Clinton camp for a couple decades now. They're the ones whose action (or inaction) might confuses things just enuff to potentially swing a primary away from Obama. |
Chrishayden
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 3417
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 11:01 am: |
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I never thought about it, but Obama's name really does work against him, doesn't it? The Western world gets very nervous about Islamic overtones as witnessed by how all of the conspiracy buffs think that Princess Diana was murdered because if her muslim boyfriend Dodi Fayed impregnanted her, there could a Arab, who as the half-brother of 2 princes, could have access to the British throne
See folks. Cynique does eventually get it.
I honestly do NOT think he'll have problem obtaining the support of Black people. If anything, he may have to be careful that there are so many Black foks fawning over him that it scares away the suburban soccer mom vote.
Bill Clinton is going to have those Negroes in the Black churchs sucking ass in no time.
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Urban_scribe
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Urban_scribe
Post Number: 313
Registered: 05-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2007 - 07:37 pm: |
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Obama's middle name is Hussein - as in Saddam. Poor man can't win for losing! |
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