The black president some worried about has arrived (Washington Post)

washingtonpost. ^ | July 15 | Janell Ross

[dennisw]

President Obama address NAACP, calls for prison reform(45:49) President Obama said the nation can no longer "close their eyes" to racial inequality in the criminal justice system as he called for reform during a speech to the NAACP's 106th National Convention on Tuesday. (WhiteHouse.gov)

There's this thing people sometimes say down South.

So-and-so is "acting brand new." Sometimes that's a reference to people behaving like they don't know old friends and family — that they have evolved past their old crowd. Sometimes that's Southern-speak for the emboldened, people behaving like they either don't know the rules or have outright decided to disregard them.

In the past four weeks, we've seen President Obama take up residence in a place that sits somewhere in-between.

He's spoken off the cuff about race relations on a widely circulated podcast (even using the n-word) and then eloquently followed that with what can only be described as a sermon on race relations in America before breaking into song. He's challenged America to go deeper in its support of equality than retiring symbols of slavery (such as the Confederate flag) and impolitic words (such as the n-word).

Still, this Obama didn't do what he has so many times before. He didn't lecture black America about its behavior while making only passing mention of some of the social and economic conditions that solid research — not just political ideology — tells us has at least helped to foster inequality. He gave a full airing to his sense that there is a need for wholesale policy reforms. And he stayed completely clear of the politically expedient and at times outright popular act of saying that young black men should do something about the way some wear their pants or how they speak.

[ronnie raygun]

Allowing the black race to comitt crimes and recieve no jail time ro punishment, social justice. We lock them up because they are black and for no other reason. Gangmembers are now being treated like highclass dignitaries in jails across the country

[Bellflower]

Wouldn’t it be interesting to get a bit of his dna and have it analyzed and publish the results.