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 !!!!!!