William Reed; Who Speaks For African-Americans, Yes You?
(ThyBlackMan.com) While many questioned whether Barack
Obama was “Black enough,” in the 2008 elections 96 percent
of African-Americans cast their vote for him.
Today, the question has re-emerged. In a recent critique, African-American
scholar Cornel West stated that Obama is “culturally
White.” This statement has created new ways to evaluate Obama, has
ignited a new debate, and increased the divisions existing among
African-Americans.
Does Obama represent Black Americans’ views and issues these
days? An even more relevant question might be, “Do Blacks want
a Black as their spokesperson?”
McKinney speaks
The leading voices for racial representation and justice in the past now cop
another tune. The Rev. Al Sharpton said, “The issue comes down to a
misunderstanding of Obama’s role. This is the first
time in this country that we have an African-American president.
[However], he’s not the president of African-Americans.”
Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney has used the unpopular war in African
countries to take over the role of international spokesperson for Black
Americans.
As traditional Black political and religious leaders scamper like mice
around the issue, McKinney has taken the position that Obama’s actions
and practices are primarily based on his “White conqueror
mindset.”
McKinney said that Obama’s practices and policies are “a
continuation of George Bush” and “do not represent the
views of African-Americans.” On state-sponsored broadcasts in
Libya, the 2008 Green Party presidential candidate said, “these policies
of war…are not what the people of the United States stand for, and
it’s not what African-Americans stand for.”
Aiding the enemy?
Mainstream media carries an imperialist point of view and portrays McKinney
as a rube, “lending aid and comfort to America’s enemies” as
she “fanned flames of American hatred by telling Muslims in Libya and
Iran that the United States is exactly what they believe it is – a fat,
bloated nation controlled by Israel that exploits the poor in order to line the
pockets of the wealthy.”
McKinney told viewers, “the profile of an African-American is one
that advocates for truth, justice, and human dignity.” Despite
Western media portrayals of Gaddafi as a crazy madman, to McKinney and other
African-oriented activists, he’s “a hero of African
rights.”
Benefiting from war
The war in Libya is about increasing the wealth of a few. It cost
Americans $4 million a day. In what way does this war benefit Black
Americans? It doesn’t matter that Nelson Mandela supports
Gaddafi and his works. To Black Americans, who believe Obama is
heaven-sent, McKinney’s and Cornel West’s utterances are
blasphemy.
In the eyes of “post-racial” Blacks, McKinney and
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan parrot Libyan government propaganda and
paint the regime as “a harbinger of peace” on the African
continent.
In the eyes of McKinney and Farrakhan, Blacks have bought into an
imperialist system and actively glorify America’s militarism and
dominance in the name of unlimited personal fortunes of a few.
In the case of whether the U.S. should be allowed to continue assaulting
this Black
African country, what say you?
Written By William Reed
Mr. Reed William Reed is available for speaking/seminar projects via;
BaileyGroup.org.
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http://dignity.ning.com/
