Obama's charm lost on America's black activists

The Sunday Times ^ | January 14, 2007 | Tony Allen-Mills

[george76]

HE is a media darling, a paparazzi target and a source of inspiration for millions of Democrats who dream of retaking the White House in 2008.

But Senator Barack Obama, the charismatic African-American who is shaking up the presidential primary race, has not impressed some of America’s most powerful black activists.

Civil rights leaders who have dominated black politics for much of the past two decades have pointedly failed to embrace the 45-year-old Illinois senator who is considering a bid to become America’s first black president.

At a meeting of activists in New York last week, the Rev Jesse Jackson, the first black candidate to run for president, declined to endorse Obama. “Our focus right now is not on who’s running, because there are a number of allies running,”...

The Rev Al Sharpton, the fiery New York preacher who joined the Democratic primary race in 2004, said he was considering another presidential run of his own...

Harry Belafonte, the calypso singer who became an influential civil rights activist, said America needed to be “careful” about Obama: “We don’t know what he’s truly about.”

The unexpected coolness between the old civil rights guard and the new Democratic hopeful has added an intriguing twist to the budding rivalry between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton...

“They are basically jealous,” said a Democratic strategist who has not yet decided which candidate he intends to support. “They’ve been toiling in the trenches for decades, and along comes this son of a Kenyan farmer and suddenly he’s measuring the drapes in the Oval Office.”

[randita]

He's not a real African-American because he's not descended from slaves.

Exactly. And Obama's mother is white. That's a problem for the old guard as well.

[MinnesotaLibertarian]

I think a lot of black activists (liberal and conservative, mind you) are annoyed because the media paints him as the great new black leader when he's not even really black! Sure, his skin is dark, and he has African ancestry, but he's not a true black American - he's not descended from slaves. On top of that, he had an extremely privileged background that very few black OR white kids get to experience. He's in no way qualified to speak about what it's like to be a black man in America. That's why I think the activists are (rightly) pissed.

[MinnesotaLibertarian]

That song/video is priceless. Very sage advice, too.

[RightWhale]

just the king’s clothes

Belafonte has reversed the metaphor.

[grundle]

Clinton was applauded at a breakfast meeting for her attacks on President George W Bush’s economic policies of “tax breaks for the rich”. She added: “It is not rich Americans who have made this country great. It is hard-working Americans who have worked hard to lift themselves and their children up.”

Hillary thinks that rich people did not earn their money.

[SpringheelJack]

I think they're just holding back so they can extort some promises from him.

[BohDaThone]

he had an extremely privileged background that very few black OR white kids get to experience

I think the above is a bit over the top. His parents (biological, step- and grand-) were basically professors or civil servants. I would venture that most congresspeople his age, black and white, had at least as much money in their families. I would guess that his "raising family" income would be in the top 20% maybe, not much more .

Now, if you mean that, despite the family break-ups, he was always being raised by people who valued education, and seemed to care for him, that may be more privileged than most kids today.

I don't agree with his positions -- they are mostly conventional liberal -- but he is not "an empty suit." He is a very smart guy, who did not get his "brownie points" on affirmative action. (AA will get you into Harvard Law, but it won't get you on Law review, or graduate magna.) He is also well in control of himself, which is more than can be said for almot all the black dem leaders (which is another reason they dislike him), and most of the white dem leaders. That makes him both attractive and formidable. Be prepared to take him on on the issues.

[doberville]

Most excellent observation! Jesse et al have not received their pound of flesh.

How presumptuous of Obama!

[MinnesotaLibertarian]

You're right, perhaps I went a bit over the top, but I generally stand by what I said. He went to private school and traveled around the world as a kid. That's certainly more opportunity than a white kid from St. Paul such as yours truly ever had.

However, I agree that Obama is definitely smart and worked hard to get where he is. He didn't need to be outlandish to get attention, which sets him aside from the self-appointed black leaders.

[Ditter]

I guess he isn't black enough and he certainly acts white. I haven't heard him blame whitey for all the ills of the world......... I haven't heard him say much of anything, now that I think about it. Maybe he IS an empty, well tailored suit.

[Jeff Chandler]

The first rock and roller, IMHO.

Jordan was certainly a pioneer.

I love to listen to him and watch videos like that one. His lyrics and his performances were unabashed expressions of African-American culture, e.g.: "Is you is or is you ain't my baby?" Somewhere along the line too many young black artists decided that "keepin' it real" means being angry, mean, and obscene. Ain't no hate in a Louis Jordan song, just a whole lotta fun.

[george76]

Hillary 'made' $100,000 on her commodity trading, but then she stopped.

Most of us would keep on trading if we were that successful.

She will not say why she stopped nor how she got so lucky.

[george76]

He was raised by white folks...his white mother, then her parents.

His father apparently left when he was 2 ?

He should not do the slave thing like the reverends do.

[Mr. Jeeves]

“They’ve been toiling in the trenches for decades, and along comes this son of a Kenyan farmer and suddenly he’s measuring the drapes in the Oval Office.”

Al Sharpton can "measure the drapes" in the Oval Office any time he wants - he just needs to get a job with the White House's drape company. ;)

[BohDaThone]

I don't know whether he actually got any AA. His late college grades seem to have been good, and he's certainly smart enough to have aced his LSAT's. If he did that, he wouldn't need AA to get in. I just don't know those facts.

I DO know that Harvard (and all law schools) do blind grading; that graduating magna is top 10% of the class or better; that law review is not given out by AA (and has been heavily criticized for it -- usually only 1/3 women, and very few blacks or hispanics), and that the cutthroat law review folks don't award President on AA -- otherwise there would have been one long before him.

This doesn't mean he walks on water, but it does mean that he is no dummy, who got where is is now only by AA. Hard work, smarts (and a heck of lot of luck in his Illinois Senate race, as his formidable opponents just self-destructed one after another!!)

Your general implication, though, is a good one -- and has become very controversial among civil rights groups and educators. They are finding that most AA slots are going to: a) Caribbean blacks; b) African blacks; and c) "bi-racial" (means you've got 50% "white blood" in this generation, instead of much further back!), and a lot of folks don't like it.

The explanations for it are all highly unpalatable to the civil rights establishment. Since schools generally do choose on "merit" AMONG those they label as "black," it means that something is propelling to the top those who: a) have british educational system, immigrant work ethic, and usually tight-knit families and more religious background (Caribbeans, especially -- cf Gen. Powell); b) above plus "aristocratic ethnic" background (especially Ibo from Nigeria and some central African highlands nobility (Ugandan, kenyan. especially -- cf. Obama); and/or c) "white" ancestry and raising (often actually Asian -- cf Tiger Woods and Obama).

Obviously, none of those facts are very PC!

[Lancey Howard]

LOL

[BohDaThone]

I think we're mostly on the same page -- though I'm not sure that being hauled off to Indonesia by your hippie mom and new step-dad quite qualifies as "travelling the world" in the usual sense, and I would note that Punahau, while quite a good private school, is hardly "exclusive for royalty" as some have said. It is probably the largest private schools in the US, with 3700 students and quite a strong scholarship program.

He wasn't born in a log cabin, but I'll also stand by my first post that most public officials today are at least as "well-born and privileged." We shouldn't emulate the left in thinking that anybody with a few bucks is what we call "wealthy elite."

[Seeing More Clearly Now]

There's no "there" there with Obama.

Harry Belafonte ... said America needed to be “careful” about Obama: “We don’t know what he’s truly about.” Old Harry's right about that.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Somewhere along the line too many young black artists decided that "keepin' it real" means being angry, mean, and obscene. Ain't no hate in a Louis Jordan song, just a whole lotta fun.

Too true. When I think of black pioneers like Jordan, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk and the wonderful contributions they made to culture in general, not just black culture, in the face of discrimination and see how it's degenerated to 50 Cent and others, I want to cry.