Is Barack Obama Black Enough?

Music: The Isley Brothers ‘Go For Your Guns’

Beverage: Amstel Light 

      I first blogged about the Obama phenomenon in Dec. of 06, two months before he announced he’d run for president, because it was obvious where all of the fan fervor was heading. The fans and the media were all cheering “Run Barack! Run!”. Black Folks obviously get very suspicious when White Folks are cheering for someone Black who doesn’t have a ball in his hands. That may explain why Blacks were slow to jump on the Obama bandwagon. We wanted to learn a little bit more about him, because contrary to popular belief, we don’t vote for someone just because of the color of their skin. Just ask ‘wanna be Pennsylvania Governor Lynn Swann’ or ‘wanna be Ohio Governor Ken Blackwell’ or ‘wanna be Maryland Senator Michael Steele’. They received dismal support from Black voters, which is proof that Black voters chose to vote for someone who shared their ‘Interest’ vs. voting for someone who shared their skin color. Since being given the right to vote, Blacks have consistently shown their willingness to vote for White candidates. Can White voters say the same thing? Can White voters show a willingness to vote for Black candidates? Former L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley and former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder, both had safe leads in the polls, but found out the cheering stops when White voters have to pull the lever on election day. Mayor Bradley lost his bid for the California Governorship by a slim margin and Doug Wilder won by a sliver. In both cases White voters were not honest about their intentions to vote for those two Black candidates, and the polls were wrong by double digits. Did both of those men receive White votes? Absolutely. That said, nothing came easy for Mayor Bradley and Gov. Wilder, and running for a statewide office is much easier and much different than running for President.

ENTER BARACK OBAMA.

Americans routinely state Barack Obama’s Race is a non-issue, but continually ask: ‘Is Barack Obama Black enough?’

Why isn’t anyone asking:

if Hillary Clinton is woman enough,

or if Bill Richardson is Mexican enough,

or if John Edwards is man enough?  (according to Ann Coulter he isn’t)

Now that you see the absurdity in such questions, I’m sure you understand why I decided to readdress the Obama phenomenon.

I stated in my book White Men Can’t Hump (As Good As Black Men) that America always says “Let’s discuss Race relations” after some horrific event (like Hurricane Katrina), but then buries its head in the sand when the event subsides. Americans don’t like to discuss Race when it makes them uncomfortable, but if the subject at hand doesn’t create discomfort, Americans will talk. Especially White Americans. I’m quite sure White America will have no problem discussing Race when the Duke Lacrosse rape case is closed or when the Black Man who murdered the New York college student, Imette St. Guillen, goes on trial. Race is a part of our everyday life, coast to coast, whether we like to discuss it or not. And when it’s Black & White it seems like the stakes are raised, the media coverage is intensified, and the passions are elevated. Race is easiest to discuss when you’re discussing the other Race. Race is easiest to discuss when it makes the other Race uncomfortable. When Blacks play the Race Card, Whites get uncomfortable, and don’t like to discuss Race. But Whites are more than willing to discuss Race when they have a stake in the race. Whites enjoyed discussing Tiger Wood’s Racial make-up, and Halle Berry’s Racial make-up, and now Barack Obama’s Racial make-up. Yet it took DNA testing to get Whites to discuss, and acknowledge, the Racial make-up of the Blacks who descended from our third President, Thomas ‘The Rapist’ Jefferson. Needless to say, it was a very quick discussion. Which brings us back to the initial question: “Is Barack Obama Black Enough?”

Is Barack Obama Black enough to get followed in stores?

YES!

Is Barack Obama Black enough to get passed by taxis?

YES!

Is Barack Obama Black enough to get Racial Profiled by the police?

YES!

Is Barack Obama Black enough to get called NIGGER?

YES!

Sounds like he’s Black enough to me.

He’s also Black enough for his Black American wife and his two Black daughters.

Is Barack Obama’s Blackness in question because his father was born in Africa, and not in America? That too is an absurd question. Obama’s father’s place of birth does not diminish his son’s Blackness one bit.

Ask Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant, if his place of birth mattered when he was sodomized with a broomstick and called Nigger by a New York police officer?

Mr. Louima was obviously Black enough for the N.Y.P.D.

Ask Amadou Diallo, a Guinean immigrant, if his place of birth mattered when four police officers fired 41 bullets, striking him 19 times, and killing him?

Mr. Diallo was obviously Black enough for the N.Y.P.D., and I’m quite sure that Mr. Obama would be Black enough for the N.Y.P.D.

The place of birth for those two Black Men didn’t hinder them from experiencing what plenty of American-born Black Men have experienced the last 4 centuries.

Mr. Obama is obviously Black enough for Black America, and has been all along, so the question should be rephrased and then transferred back to the people who created the question to begin with. The question should never have been ‘Is Barack Obama Black enough’ because the people asking that question are not seeking that question’s true answer. Asking if ‘Barack Obama is Black enough’ is just a nice way of trying to get Black America to answer the true question that White Americans want answered.  

Is Barack Obama too Black for White America?

That’s the question my friends, so don’t pass this shit off to Black Folks when it’s White Folks who cheer and then have a change of heart in the privacy of their voting booth. For now, he’s obviously not too Black for White America, but let’s see what happens on the upcoming election nights. America truly needs Barack Obama to win the Democratic nomination so we can finally face our demons. An Obama run for the White House would rip the scab off of the wound called Racism, and the truth would finally be exposed. The bullshit excuses like “He doesn’t share my values” will not suffice this time around. What excuses will the Red States create if the once married Obama were to run against one of the ‘Wife Collectors’ (Guilliani, Gingrich, McCain, or Romney, a Mormon with only one wife on his resumé). I’m sure the next excuse will be ‘He lacks experience’. Look at the experienced men who gave us the Iraq War, and look at the experienced men and women who voted for that war, and continue to support that war. If Obama can withstand the values and experience questions, then we’ll surely see the Southern Strategy employed. If America responds like the voters in Tennessee after the Harold Ford ‘Playboy Ad’, then we’ll know that Barack Obama was plenty Black enough.

Tags: Barack Obama

This entry was posted on Monday, March 12th, 2007 at 10:52 am and is filed under WMCH Blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.