Re: Re: TTT/Interesting Obama article
 

You are on to something. Doing a second read of the piece, the author does seem to imply that "blackness" and social class are tied together, in the wider society's eyes.
I do think that Mr. Obama's seen as a "more model minority" than Pookie, Ray Ray, Man-Man and them. In this context, Pookie would be somebody like Rev. Al Sharpton.
And as an aside, it also brought back the not-black-enough memories I went through, but I digress.

This Alan Keyes is a piece of work
 

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site....wnews/keyes816

:rolleyes: :eek:

Re: This Alan Keyes is a piece of work
 

*we need a speechless smiley face on here.*

I'm very proud of Barack Obama. Professor Obama was my Constitutional Law teacher at law school and taught us equal protection which covers areas such as Brown vs. Board, voting rights, etc. and he is as phenomenal a teacher as he was an Illinois Senator. He's also a genuinely nice man and I think that he will do well in DC.

Ba-Rock the vote! (For all those Illinoisans who helped with his run for the Democratic primary).

I'm kind of baffled that *when*he wins, he will be the only Black US Senator.

Do you all think that it's b/c we don't have anyone running or are we just not getting out the vote? Are there Black contenders in your state?

SC

Here in California, we don't have a black candidate, but I don't believe that an AfAm could win a senatorial or gubernatorial election any longer. First of all, we're only 7% of the population. Secondly, the state's gone Democratic in recent years, but remember this is also the state that passed Prop. 209 in 1996. At one time, the electorate was more left-leaning, and blacks could be elected to statewide office.

opprtunity block pols
 

When I first heard the Obama Speech at the DNC, I thought wow, here's an articulate brother who is steeling Ford Jr.'s shine. I feel the same about Obama as I do about Ford Jr. That they are both great politicians abd can win elections, but are they the types that can galvanize the masses of downtrodden blacks in our communities that are in need of activist politics?

I worked on Ford Jr.'s first campaign for congress in '96 in Memphis. I can tell you that he knew the political game, and I was glad when he won. He also has great ideas (check his website for policy tendencies and voting record http://www.house.gov/ford/) but here is the concern that I have with all of our politicians, can they be mainstream enough to win elections, but marginal enough to connect to the black masses? I don't think so, as long as our affiliations are more about winning elections than about positioning ourselves in places of power where we can really effect policy change. Can Obama really call for our government to create policies of empowerment for black institutions (like charter schools that don't have to bow down to the NEA with their policies, or like federal money to create an entity that polices the police in our communities). These are things that the masses suffer from (poor education and police brutality and profiling), but the mainstream society sees as radical, and therefore would not vote for a candidate that had a clear policy stance like these.

Now, I believe in the vote, and I believe we must play the government game for what it is worth, but if our politicians can only be repsonsive to constituents who do not have black empowerment as a central focus, how much policy change can we really see from them once they get in office? It is a complicated issue, but I think men like Ford Jr. and Obama are good for our community, if they can galvanize more black people (from the resentment block) to become politically active.

The opportunity block I think focuses too much on individual success at the expense of policy directives that enhance the quality of life for all blacks. For example, there is a line of scholarship that suggests that the affirmative action sruggle is really a middle class struggle, seeing as though most of the masses of blacks are not going to be able to take advantage of any minority scholarships and affirmative hiring practices (when was the last time you saw a need to hire more black janitors at your campus?). What this creates is a class divide in our community, because these same people who fight for affirmative action are not being critical of the basic social stratifying agents in our country, capitalism and inequality. In a sense, they are saying these things are fine, just don't let me (as an individual) be the one on the short end. Can this sentiment lead to the fundamental social structural change that the masses of black folk need?

Blackwatch-The Cushite !!!!!!

Winning elections vs. galvanizing black people is the critical issue you’ve posed here, IMO. Are “our” issues (that’s an interesting thread idea) broad enough for a national AfAm candidate to champion yet have the crossover appeal to make majority (white voters) comfortable enough to vote for him? Obviously not yet. While I think this is a question better asked of white voters, here's a thought of mine.

Our cultural experiences, and to a lesser extent, our shared experiences in America both good and bad, often shape our similar conclusions. Yet these conclusions are ALWAYS reached individually. "Successful” AfAm national candidates, like successful white ones, have no choice but to appeal to broader issues because that’s where elections are won—the broad middle. Operationally, we’re as diverse as anybody (we’re white/grey/blue collar, professional/non-professional, religious divides, conservative/liberal in our thinking, etc…) As we continue to expand along these lines, it should become “easier” to champion these broader issues and still find large scale AfAm support because we’re in more of these categories. Economics often play a large role in affecting both black/white voters, giving issues like schools, the economy greater or lesser importance. Also, we are going to have to continue to grow politically, upper middle and lower socio-economic classes.

Issues of racism, redlining, Affirmative Action, etc. will continue dominating headlines, but as society moves forward, and cultures continue to merge, a lot of grey areas will emerge—maybe making it easier for “our” candidate and “their” candidate to be one-in-the-same, and to, at least sometimes, look like us.

Well, it's Sen. Obama
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...llinois_senate

I hope that he's a solid senator because in 2010, I doubt that the Illinois GOP will have to resort to azzclown dregs like Alan Keyes to run against him.

Re: I feel you on that.
 

I presented with him last week. I was not impressed. And no, he is not a member of Alpha.

Re: Re: I feel you on that.
 

What was it that rendered him average in your opinion?

i guess that's my point, nothing made him exceptional. don't get me wrong, i think the guy is ok. after seeing him on tv and all the media attention i expected him to have presence like during the convention. while i'm sure that he is intelligent and will uplift AA, I found him to be just like the guy next door. he's down to earth and all - i guess i was expecting him to challenge me like a martin luther king. i don't want to take away from him, i just thought he was ok nothing more and nothing less. i spoke after him and started out with something like i did not ride the bus with rosa, i did not walk the streets and highways with martin and i did not attempt to eat at the lunch counter with the brave souls in greesnboro - the media only gave him a second and then played my speech - maybe i just had a good day. anway, i wish him the best and he has my support

More Obama
 

Professor,
I guess that we will have to agree to disagree on this one.
Barack Obama, as an IL state Senator for the past several years has been an exceptional force in the state legislature. This is one of the reasons that he was able to sweep the Democratic primaries besting at least 7-8 other Democratic primary candidates, some of which were real movers in IL.

Additionally, having had the pleasure of listening to him as my professor of Constitutional Law during the time that I was in law school (he's also a lecturer at my lawschool and teaches Voter Rights and Constitutional Law: Equal Protection), I can say that he is very well-respected as a great mind both by faculty and students alike on an academically level as well as a real-world level.

I would disagree that he's an average Joe. It was not only Black people in IL who put him in office (although I don't want to diminish our efforts -- Black people from ALL economic levels worked tirelessly for him in a ton of capacities from donating to his campaign to hosting receptions for him at our various lawfirms, etc. to those who worked on the streets during election day to get out the vote) - he got the majority vote from Black, White, Hispanic and probably every other group in IL. I would say that he's far from average and go as far as to say that he's probably the next great rising star.

No, he's not going to sound like MLK, which is part of the reason that I think that he appeals to some in our community. Of course this is my opinion but I think that folk are tired of the old guard which was solely comprised of preachers having the preaching style and are ready for some new fresh faces and styles. And yes, he is down-to-earth. This is something else that I think that alot of people really like about he. It may be an act, who knows, but he genuinely seems to care about people.

SC

Re: Well, it's Sen. Obama
 

Hi Soror Steeltrap,
I think that he will be a solid senator. He did very well in the state legislature as IL state senator and while Capitol Hill is different, I don't see him floundering once he gets there.

Yes, that fool Keyes (who isn't even from IL by the way - has a mansion in Maryland and rented a little makeshift apartment here in IL just for the election) got sent home, where I hope that he will stay. Do you know that that fool didn't even have the decency to call Barack Obama and congratulate him? Additionally, after hte race was called for Obama, Alan Keys STILL left his supporters standing down in the hotel ballroom not knowing when he was going to come down and at least thank them for their work. He is a mess. He took so long to come down and thank his supporters (and NEVER called Barack Obama to congratulate him or to even do the traditional conceding of the race, stating that "it's not his traditional so he doens't have to do it") that Barack Obama just went ahead and made his acceptance speech (at a different hotel at which the Barack Obama victory party was held).

There was a strong Republican candidate before Alan Keyes but he dropped out after allegations that he abused his wife when he was married to her. Yet still, Barack Obama got more votes than even the strong Republican candidate did - even before the news of his alleged behavior came out. So there were other Republicans for him to contend with and he ended up beating them.

SC

SC, given that you're closer to what B.Obama has done, can you perhaps share a few of his legislative accomplishments/initiatives from his time in the Illinois legislature?

I enjoyed his speech and "national introduction" if you will, and look for good things from him, but I think the national media has done a poor job of profiling him beyond his speechmaking and personality profiling articles.