Is Barack Obama Black Enough?

Let me start this off by asking the very same people that question Barack Obama's ethnicity by asking them a question. Has there ever been a black president, and if so what was his name? This is not to endorse Barack Obama as the only solution to the Presidency, or to discredit anyone else running because I have not done all the research there is to be done as of yet. One thing I am confident in stating however, is that there has never been a Black President before, so I ask my fellow African Americans, why are all the questions about how black a presidential candidate needs to be and the such now? What is exactly black enough and by what means were these standards created? A lot of people will try to give me the line that Bill Clinton was the first Black President and quantify this by stating that to this day Bill maintains an office in Harlem to be down with the brothers and sisters. Contrary to popular belief, if you look at Bill Clinton's or any other past president's birth's certificate I can guarantee you that Negro, African American, or Black is just an empty check box on the standard form. Bill Clinton may be a smooth talker, handy with a saxophone, and comfortable at the barbershop, but rest assured, a "brother" Bill Clinton is not.

Al Shartpon made the statement, " Don't assume that just because someone is your color that they are your kind!" when referring to whether or not he was putting his support behind Barack Obama. Why use terms such as this in an attempt to undermine this man. Wouldn't he be better served stating that the jury is still out, but he must talk to the man and study his politics in more detail before making a commitment? Why play upon his skin tone as it relates to his candidacy? Does anyone question Sharpton's blackness, and why he would wear a perm in 2007? What makes him feel that he is a viable solution to representing blacks and our political agenda? When I look around my neighborhood the only people I see wearing permed out hairstyles are the pimps and the pushers. What is that saying about him? Is he attempting to pimp the black community and push foolish ideologies into our communities that keep us oppressed and needy instead of enabling and empowering them for growth? Where are his messages on how to accumulate the wealth and knowledge that he always screams should just be given to us because of the trauma and destruction our forefathers faced? Why is he not begging our people to stay in school, start our own businesses, take control of our own communities and lives to make it better for us all?

Barack Obama may not be black like me, talk like me or walk like me, but make no mistake about it, he is blacker and more viable than any other "black" candidate to previously run and that means Jesse and Al. We need to get out of the mindset that the ideal black presidential candidate will bring about radical change in government and ostracize others while placing blacks into the forefront of power and rewriting history. The idea of turning the tables upside down after hundreds of years of oppression may seem plausible and myopic, but this is a false ideology perpetuated by some prominent people that stand the most to gain by continuing this rhetoric and divisive game. The true black candidate will be one that can garner and demand respect from all communities and look out for the good of all people not just one particular race or class. We need to understand the fact that America is just not built like that and there will be no reparations! Consider the fact that African Americans only make up 12% of the population as a whole. You can not work for just one group of people's needs and not others! Has this fact not been a rallying point by candidates in so many other elections?

I am not asking anyone to blindly follow Barack Obama to the presidency, but please dispel this notion that is based off an imaginary blackness gauge and not the true issues which primarily center around the ability of a candidate to lead and make the right decisions for all. Remember the great Martin Luther "The King" Jr envisioned a day when a man would be judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin! It is a sad day when we have more whites seeming "publicly at least," to grasp this notion better than those that were and still are on the tail end of judgement based off the color of their skin.

Where's the Black Candidate?

Allow myself to introduce...myself

As we all know, the last few months have provided more than enough subject matter to provoke discussion on any number of social topics. Quite frankly, I'm a bit weary of discussing or even thinking about it all. Perhaps as a result of working through Labor Day weekend, (how ironic) my attention span is shorter than usual. So, as a result, I'll keep my thoughts short and fairly random, in an effort to give you an idea who I am, and what kind of things you can expect hear from me. Without further delay, here's a few things that come to mind now.

- "Quite frankly," isn't a good way to start a sentence. If I have to tell you I'm being frank, are you to assume that everything else I've said was less than "frank?"

- Perhaps this is a false "back in the day" perception, but it seems black people were more driven and focused when opportunities for success were more limited. Now that we have more access to the opportunity structure in our society, we appear to be apathetic and distracted. Our collective attitude seems to parallel what many of us have experienced in personal relationships. When the relationship is new, and the extent to which you will win the affections of the person you're interested in is uncertain, your thoughts and energies are focused on that "special" someone. When the relationship has reached a point of stabilty, and you've become comfortable in your knowledge of the level of emotional attachment and commitment of your "significant" other, it's easy to become complacent, disinterested, and unappreciative of the person whose affections you once made great efforts to attain.

- Yes, I went off on a personal tangent. But what's the fun of reading a blog if you don't get a look into the everyday, personal things that we all spend a lot (some of us too much) time trying to figure out about ourselves?

- I'll wrap up this first post with a thought that perhaps may lead to further discussion. I think we have too much black culture in our community. As a matter of fact, there's too much community in our community. I think we all should have an understanding and appreciation for the history of people of African descent in this country, and, by identifying with our shared history, feel a strong sense of love and kinship for each other. But I think our sense of culture should pretty much stop there. As an individual, the way I think and act should have everything to do with what I know to be right, based on whatever system of values I have, not anyone's definition of black culture. I try to do the right thing in everything I do, not because I want to be a good black man, but because I want to be a good man. If we, as individuals, do the best we can for ourselves and our families, then many of the problems we face collectively we be alleviated. I'm not saying that the larger social structure is perfect - we must continute to push for equitable opportunities for social mobility for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds - but I do know that, just as in personal relationships, if we can't appreciate what we have now, we will eventually lose it.