Barack Obama...a real African American
Again, "Black Americans", excuse me, "African Americans", have shown their collective naivete when it comes to history and American politics.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday I intended to interview a few professionals in my family circle about their feelings on Obama's victory last month. With one being a high ranking medical professional and the other being a high ranking law enforcement official, each with decades of experience in their respective fields, I was hoping for some moderate, thought provoking analysis on the Illinois' Senator's metoric rise to the White House. Instead, what I realized was they, like most of black America, were card carrying VIP members of the Obama bandwagon express and their responses to my initial inquiries were so over the top I knew that any attempt at an interview would have broken no new ground.
I was disappointed to say the least, but I did gain further insight into the collective hysteria that has consumed black America since Obama hit the world stage. In fact it's a lot like the way black America adopted Christianity and attempted to make it their own personal birthright, despite the thousands of years of pre-religious society in which their ancestors thrived.
There are two key things to understand concerning to Barack Obama, firstly; Mr. Obama is, technically, an African American, you, the reader more than likely are not an African American. Obama's father was born in Africa, and his mother in America. The President Elect has spent extended time on the African continent where he still maintains relations with family members who live there. You, the reader, have more than likely never stepped foot on the continent of Africa and the only African that you know is probably Nelson Mandela (and you don't really know him do you?).
I was born and raised in New York City. While it may be passe to call myself African American (and yes I have been to Africa more than once I might add), I am really nothing more than a black American. Born and raised right here on this continent. Black because if I am going to call caucasians white for lack of a better word, then why should I have a problem with being called black? Semantics, yes, but why would I care what people call me in public if I am almost certain that they use other descriptive adjectives in private. I attended college with a white kid who was born in South Africa then became an American citizen, couldn't he justifiably call himself an African American, even moreso than I could? Nevertheless, I'll move on before I spend the rest of my time on this subject.
The second thing that is key about Obama's ascension to the White House is that because his father was born in Africa, a free man, then Obama does not descend from the lineage of the American Slave. Obama's ancestors were not slaves in America like most of black America.
During the Presidential campaign, everywhere I went I kept hearing people telling me that Obama's campaign was a message from God. It was actually quite sickening. Black people put everything on God, new cars, new jobs, disease, even R Kelly aquittals! We want so badly to tie ourselves in the power that is the motherland but we don't really want to accept the history that our ancestors experienced, not at all. If we did we would stop putting on suits Sunday morning and don some dashikis and grow afros. It's as though we can't belive that an individual can just wake up one day and decide to achive something by sheer will power and hard work unless some unseen God has prophesized the event first. Well hopefully God doesn't decide to put Obama through the same ordeal he forced the Bible's Job to endure (sheesh, talk about omnipotent pettiness!)
I doubt that Obama is looking over his shoulder for God's wrath or some silly game God may want to play with the devil to prove a point. Certainly he had to endure some of the same racial divisiveness that many black Americans have had to endure in their lifetimes, but maybe because he was a true African American as opposed to a black American he was able to see past the limitations that his slave descendant counterparts place on themselves everyday.
So yes the there will be three people who were descendents of slaves in the White House, but neither of them was elected. So, while it's true that Obama is the first person of color to win the US Presidency, he isn't at all the prodigal son so many blacks wish he was. So please stop with all the tears and jibberish. If Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton were Harvard Graduates and former Presidents of the Harvard Law Review and had ever held any 'real' political offices in their lives, they too may have challenged for the White House in years past.
That's the message that we want to send our youth. Follow Obama's professional and educational pedigree and maybe you too can become president. Don't think that some God somewhere off beyond the stars is waiting to ordain a position for you at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Posted By: Curly Morris
Saturday, December 13th 2008 at 3:02PM
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