PBS television and radio talk show host and best selling author Tavis Smiley in his own words is “catching hell” from many in the black community for suggesting the Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) may have erred in not accepting his invitation to participate in his annual “the State of the Black Union” Conference, being held in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, February 23, 2008…Read More ; Even more at "The Root"
I both have and respect strong political opinions; but this HATE and intolerance and intimidation of those who do not exactly mirror the political preference of some overzealous Obama supporters is scary and detracts from Obama’s campaign image and message of uniting people across our real and perceived divisions . I support Tavis Smiley in speaking up and standing firm against this kind of intolerance.
Below is my response, which can also be read online at The Trail A Daily Diary of Campaign 2008 at The Washington Post.
Beni Dakar
What better forum than Tavis Smiley’s “the State of the Black Union” Conference for Senator Obama to participate in. The physical location of the conference is New Orleans, Louisiana; but the show is broadcast by C-Span and will be seen nationwide, maybe even worldwide. This conference will give Obama even more visibility and the crowd will be VERY friendly to him.
I think that it is short sighted and misguided for Obama not to make some time to participate in these powerful panel discussions. I think Obama’s real reason for not going is this: OBAMA THE CANDIDATE WHO “HAPPENS” TO BE BLACK, WANTS BLACK VOTES WITHOUT BEING OVERTLY IDENTIFIED AS A “BLACK” CANDIDATE. WHICH MEANS THAT IN SOME WAY HE IS USING BLACK VOTERS’ AS A MEANS TO HIS END; WITHOUT WANTING TO EVEN SHARE IN THIS PREMIER BLACK EVENT.
Blacks are drunk with the possibility of Obama winning the Democratic presidential nomination and possibly even the presidency in November, so they are giving him a pass on this and making Tavis Smiley unfairly the scapegoat. Sometimes, I think black Americans want things both ways: we feel snubbed and angry when President Bush refuses to address the NAACP or The Urban League (and most of us are not his constituents). But we overlook and make excuses for Obama, who has the support of most of us when he refuses to make time for the premier forum for black public policy. Then some sick small minded folk want to send hate mail to Mr. Smiley and his relatives.
Mr. Smiley has done so much to amplify the issues that matter to black America, for him to face this kind of hostility from other black people is abominable.
POSTSCRIPT: Mrs. Obama, however great she may be, is not an appropriate substitute for Barack Obama. Black people have traded their allegiance with the Clintons’ for one with the virtually unknown Obama and given this man over 80% of their votes. Obama could use this forum at Smiley’s event as a way to further introduce himself to black America and thank them for their votes. Votes given to him primarily based on shared pigmentation, because I have yet to hear Obama address in a direct way any issues that are salient with our community.
Maybe Obama's refusal should sober us up and make us take pause. Should we bestow so many of our hopes and dreams on a man who I think is afraid to personally represent at “the State of the Black Union” because his presence there may disturb some of his white constituents (who are attracted to him, because he has an atypical black heritage and upbringing and does not talk about race issues forcefully like Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson) and he does not want to take questions concerning the continued disparity between African-Americans and white America. Less those questions and answers disturb some white supporters' sensibilities.
2 comments:
You make a excellent observation one which I also believe is correct. Obama is straddling the fence, with not wanting to appear "too black to the white voters". And many black voters are indeed willingly to overlook the fact that Obama has yet to come out and acknowledge how much racism and division still exist within this country, and that African Americans as well as Latinos are oppressed an still relegated to the status of second class citizens.
Obama I also agree chose not to appear at the conference that would have been a great format for him to acknowledge/ as well as voice the issues that adversely affect Black America for the very reason you stated...it wouldn't look good to White America.
With respect, I think your viewpoint is short sighted and plain wrong. Commentary that Obama's decision not to attend this event is to maintain favor with white voters by not appearing too black, or the idea he is straddling the fence is little more than a rehash of the "is Obama really black" argument that the vast majority of black people have already put to bed, as evidenced by 80+ percent of them voting for him in caucuses and primaries.
There are excellent reasons why Obama should not attend. In the heat of a campaign like this, every minute of his time is gold and he can't afford to spend it unwisely. He already won in Louisiana, Texas and Ohio are coming up and he is trying to gain ground in those states and close out his rival for the nomination. Its about winning and going to the big dance, but you're suggesting he take his eye off the ball to go to Tavis's gathering. What for? Tavis is not delivering some audience that Obama is not or has not already reached. Furthermore, this talk of Obama taking an opportunity to address the "real" issues of black america is nonsense. The themes of his campaign and the issues he is raising of jobs, the war, healthcare, all that stuff is important to us. We are so busy demanding people speak to our grievances, complaints and victim identity, we take our eye off the ball. I can hear some now saying "well Hillary is coming, she made time". Of course. She is low on cash, any free media is good and if Obama came she would get a ton. Further, she needs face time with black folk after she and Bill totally blew their longstanding most favored Caucasian status with smear tactics, clumsy rhetoric and a clear attempt to connect Barack to white voter discomfort on the subject of race. The result? Obama is taking 80% and more of the black vote in every contest. She badly needs to rebuild some ground with us. She needs Tavis, Obama does not.
Lastly, Tavis' event is not the only place for the definitive word on black peoples issues to be revealed to the masses. Nor does Barack have to show up at a "black" event to speak to black issues. You can follow his speeches and campaign all day every day. Anybody says they don't know what he stands for don't want to know. Now, you'll say, well I haven't heard from him on this specific issue I got. Well, the list of those will always be long. But to suggest that Obama is somehow suspect or disregarding black folk because in the middle of the most important political battle of his life, at a point where his every move counts and he is playing for a place in the history books, that he should break from a winning game plan because Tavis throws a hissy fit when he gets reminded that the black universe does not revolve around him and his event is extremely poor judgment. I would consider Obama foolish to do it, and I consider Tavis egotistical to take offense at it.
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