Academic

Response to Professor Guy Uriel Charles: I Hear You, But . . . .

By Angela Onwuachi-Willig

Dear Guy:

I understand exactly what you are saying.  But, at this point, Senator Obama is just the presumptive (and eventual) nominee of the Democratic Party.  He is not THE President of the United States?yet.  Let?s make sure that Obama makes it into the White House first.

Like you, I would love to see Obama begin to directly speak to issues such as our having the highest rate of infant mortality in the country, our having the highest rate of poverty in the country, our having twice the unemployment rate as whites, and the dramatic disparity between black and white incarceration rates.  But, let?s be real.  Taking these actions now would only ensure that he never enters the White House as President.  So for now, I am content in my belief that Obama will do his best to directly address these issues once in office.  At the very least, I trust that he (more than Clinton) will not avoid these important issues in order to pander to white racism (Heck, Clinton is arguing now for the Democratic party to pander to white racism with her comments about how Obama?s ?inability? to attract white, working class voters makes her the essential choice as the Democratic nominee.).

Second, we need to recognize that Senator Obama is a politician, not the Messiah. You  (and I) are certainly right to expect him to address issues that affect the black community while in office, but we as a people have to be careful not to expect that he can resolve all of our problems in 4 years or even 8 years.  The work of forty-three Presidents and their predecessors over a period of nearly 400 years resulted in our current circumstances.  As wonderful as Obama is, he is not a miracle worker.  Furthermore, President Obama (I love the ring of that.) will not be able to create any real change without assistance from Congress?which brings me to my next point. . . .  

Yes, Senator Obama owes his success to us, but he is not the first (nor will he be the last) Democrat in areas with significant black populations (and nationally) to owe his success to us. Blacks are loyal Democrats.  Our loyalty is the reason why Democratic incumbents fight to have us drawn into their voting districts.  Blacks may not have come out in the same numbers to vote for and support other Democratic candidates, but many Democratic politicians (of all races) would not have won their seats and cannot win future seats without us.  We should expect from these politicians what we expect from Senator Obama.  True, the expectation may be greater because Senator Obama is, after all, one of us, but that does not mean that we should sell ourselves short and let other politicians get a free ride while we pounce on one of our own.

Yours in the struggle,

Angela

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Full post as published by BlackProf on May 08, 2008 (boomark / email).