This past Saturday, the annual State of the Black Union event was held at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Jamestown.
You can watch the event yourselves, and you should.
(requires RealPlayer, and YES they are LONG)
This year's focus was on putting the Covenant with Black America into 'Action'. The actions ordinary citizens can and must take to resolve the long standing issues within the African American community, starting with the 'action' of personal accountability.
Stop blaming the 'white man' or the 'black leadership', and start taking a hard look in the mirror at YOURSELF. What actions are YOU taking to address the problems within your neighborhood?
All 'good stuff'.
I won't do much explaining/examination of those points as they are well covered in the videos themselves. What I do wish to discuss happens during Part 2 of the event.
The 'calling out' of Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey.(among other issues)
Let me start of with the obvious…
black folk can't really agree on anything. Generalities sure. But my friends, the devil is in the details, and it is in the details that black folk always run into the proverbial brick wall.
There are certain issues I have with our black thinkers/leaders/elite, some profound. One, being the contradictory use of religious doctrine by people who should know better. (Tavis Smiley I'm talking to YOU, he takes a nice shot at Creflo Dollar at one point)
But enough of that for now, let me go on with what happened.
As ya'll have probably heard by now, Barack Obama announced his candidacy for presidential nomination on Saturday. YES, the same day as the State of the Black Union event in Virginia. Obama was supposed to appear via satellite at the event. (smart move right). Except, Barack cancelled, and instead made his presidential announcement.
What's the big deal willyj?
Besides skipping out on the event, Barack made the cosmically ironic mistake of making his announcement from Springfield, Illinois, the home of Abraham Lincoln. (with the mass media evoking the name of Lincoln to describe Obama). All while Lerone Bennett Jr. was sitting on the panel as a speaker.
Lerone Bennett Jr. is the author of a book entitled Forced Into Glory. Which turns the popular grade school history of Abraham Lincoln on it's head. It contends that Abraham Lincoln was a racist, and wanted to deport slaves out of the United States. (walk into your boss' office and tell him that)
DOH!
I don't know who it was in Barack's camp who advised him on this, but they FUCKED UP!
You'll have to watch the clip to hear people BOO when Tavis mentions that Barack had called him the night before to let him know he wouldn't be able to appear via satellite. BOOOOOOED they did.
Then a smart alek in the audience asks both Lerone Bennett Jr. and Cornell West of their opinions on Barack's decision to make his announcement from Springfield, all while skipping out on the State of the Black Union…tragedy.
Keep in mind that at the same time the MSM (mainstream media) was already beginning to plant the 'niggaz think Barack ain't black enough' seed into the minds of white americans, who I guess were totally ignorant to the events taking place in Williamsburg, Va.
Talk about the 'prefect storm'.
White folks attempt to poison Barack in the minds of whites by saying blacks don't like him (check that bitch Ann Coulter), all the while Barack is fuckin up wit blacks. My goodness.
Now, the panelists agreed that being 'black' wasn't the issue with Barack. It's Barack's loyalties that are in question now. The MSM (and fox news) have already got it twisted, but that's irrelevant at this point. Fox News was gonna attack Barack's 'ghetto card credentials' from the jump. That's all they've got to attack, really.(They stupid)
But man…WTF WAS BARACK THINKIN! This dude is supposed to be Harvard Law. And he can't even announce his candidacy without fuckin it up FROM THE START. Call me crazy, but this is EXACTLY the type of shit I'd expect from niggaz. Fucked UP ain't it?
Later during the show, (back to the issue of 'action' ) Dr. Julia Hare suggested that those in attendance, and watching from home, should contact Oprah about featuring the Covenant with Black America and Covenant In Action books on her show. Then snidely suggested that 'all skin ain't kin' and Oprah might not do it, but if she didn't 'bump her then'.
Wow.
See, first you have questions over Barack's 'black factor', then within the same show we have a woman suggesting that 'all skin ain't kin'. Do you see the inherent contradiction being set up here? Do you see what I'm saying about black folk and the 'details'.
I know opinions on Oprah vary. (Fuck 50 cent and Luda off the top, Chuck D was on the second panel and had plenty to say about HIPHOP)
And I do see Dr. Julia Hare's statement as not being entirely 'literal', and the chances of Oprah putting the books on her show are 'slim to none' (maybe, maybe not, I could spin it either way).
But again, the contradictions are abound.
Prior to Dr. Hare's statement, the current head of the NAACP Bruce Gordon made the point that blacks need to stop 'waiting' for the next 'great black hope' of a leader. That there will not be another MLK jr., nor another Malcolm X etc etc. That it's up to all of us to mobilize in order to change the world for the better.
How can we blast Oprah for not featuring a book, all the while Oprah herself is BEING a woman of ACTION on her own time, with her own money? Not attempting to shame anyone into being a part of her cause? (how much money has Dr. Hare contributed to Oprah's academy for girls or Angel Network??)
While the issues at hand are certainly complicated and multifaceted, we should AT LEAST be able to agree on some basics first.
Stop throwing salt should be one of those things.
This will continue. I'm just getting started.
February 13, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
willyj:
Good post my friend. :thumbup:
I gotta go inspect this restaurant. :sad: But when I come back, I’ll have a lot to say bout this.
Stay tuned……..
February 13, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Alright willyj. This may be a lil long-winded.
I haven’t seen Part 1 or Part 2 because my computer at work acts real ass backwardly sometimes. So my opinions aren’t based on the video.
My generation (ages 18-25) seems to [i]always[/i] use the ‘white man’ as a crutch. :smhfrown: And [i]I[/i] personally don’t know any ‘real’ Black Leaders. I don’t think Jesse Jackson counts.
So we (my generation) needs to build our own leader. Though it may be hard when no one [i]wants[/i] to be the leader; people are content being the followers. :tearssad:
And I sat in on a discussion where Tavis Smiley was on the panel. Dude’s an asshole. :madfu:! His opinion holds [b]NO[/b] weight with me.
As far Barak Obama
. I haven’t really formed an opinion on dude. I haven’t heard him say anything [b]important[/b] yet. I’m tempted to vote for dude, but call me dumb or whatever. [b]I AM NOT GOING TO VOTE FOR BUDDY JUST CAUSE HE BLACK[/b]. 
:smilebig:
As far as the coincidence with Barak and Abraham, that’s kind of reaching for something in my opinion. I mean it DOES look bad. But I don’t think it was that deep. I am gonna read that book by Lerone Bennet. ASAP.
And we as Blacks SHOULD NOT let the media run Barak’s name through the mud. We should not let that shit fly.
‘Then snidely suggested that ‘all skin ain’t kin’ and Oprah might not do it, but if she didn’t ‘bump her then’.
:madfu:
What the fuck is going on with all the damn Oprah hate? It’s kind of stupid now. Let Oprah do what she wanna do.
But I’m gonna have to check out the audio/visual to make a firm opinion on that.
February 14, 2007 @ 9:21 am
Dayum Tavis is an ass?
Al Sharpton said the same thing about not voting for anyone ‘just because’ they happen to be black during Part 1 too.
As far as the Barack thing goes, you’ll have to watch it for yourself. It’s towards the end of Part 2 during the ‘Question and Answer’ part of the event.
What isn’t apparent during the clip, is that Barack was supposed to make a lil appearance via satellite at the event.
So the fact that he ’skipped out’ on the event combined with the coincidence of who was on the panel right at that moment (Mr. Bennett) is what ’stings’ about the situation. Mr. Bennett and Cornell West didn’t really ’slam’ him as hard as they could have, gave him the benefit of the doubt I suppose, but it just begs the question
‘What was Barack thinking, or was he thinking at all?’ type deal.
February 14, 2007 @ 9:22 am
willyj:
I watched the clips last night. And I’m goin chalk this one up to Barak not thinking at all.
He should have did better than that. Did he HAVE to announce this by a certain time or what?
February 14, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Damn …..
this site has gone to the birds hasn’t it…
Thanks anyways Willy. You took time out to give us all a place to chill and hang and niggas STILL found a way to fuck it up. Niggaz can’t have shit no more. Its even worse when someone puts time and energy into it. Imma still come thru and drop some lines. This is such a microcosm of how we are though and its sad… just fucking sad.
And niggaz really think we can get a president into office. Man we can’t even get our unemployment rates up and we wanna put somebody into "office".
I agree that this may be our best showing of a black candidate but I hate the way all this press about OBAMA is creating a false sense of hope. One minute, niggas are crying about how racist this country is and the next minute they are rallying for a black president. We want respect but we don’t do anything to gain it.Look at our AIDS rate. Our felony rate. Our "jailbird" rate. Our college graduate and attendee rate among a host of other things. The reality is that we are fucked up although we have made strides. We have a long way to go before a black president. We can’t even get a fucking respectable black TV show on a major network. We have to stop living in this fantasy world and step into reality.
February 14, 2007 @ 9:52 am
I feel that ihadno.
Good lookin out.
February 15, 2007 @ 8:31 am
I don’t see where it’s Barack’s responsibility to go onto The State of the Black Union show. And, I do mean show. I gave up on watching it last year when The Honorable Louis Farrakhan came on and slammed the Covenant as just text. He left in a heated manner over our lack of action for improvement of our people. Then, Cornell West had to jump in and express his "disagreement" with the Minister’s thoughts. Everyone was giving eloquent speeches and it all seemed so contrived to me. I like what Bruce Gordon said however regarding the fact that he doesn’t want to be remembered by name but by action. Barack is a national figure and he has my support without impunity. I think he’s the common man’s answer to Bush’s corporate persona. Being mixed, he understands the pressure of not being accepted by anyone one group so he’s developed an identity consistent with all of them. We need a consensus builder in office, not a dictator and that’s why I like Obama. The SOTBU is a great vehicle for thought, but the Covenant with Black America isn’t going to change shit about our circumstance. Oprah is a woman of action and she chooses to better the segment of society over which she has the most influence. She knows that her bread is buttered by middle aged women and she’s going to appeal to that genre. If she begins to make political statements then she would be no better than Rush Limbaugh.
February 15, 2007 @ 9:52 am
I remember mentioning what happened last year over in SOHH NYC.
Farrakhan was on FIRE that day.
Tavis also said a smart remark after Farrakhan spoke too.
I certainly don’t agree with how certain folks on the panel will try to ‘check’ other peoples’ statements.
The covenant, as a basis for policy is ’sound’ though. But again, if it’s put into action, by a politician who is sympathetic to the cause…
which you might think would be Barack?
He wasn’t ‘obligated’ per se, but he DID agree to talk, then canceled after the fact.
That’s all I’m sayin. WHY would he handle it that way?
February 15, 2007 @ 9:55 am
I think he knows being as how he has been a "common" cat for the majority of his life and not a public figure that black leaders "talk" all the time. There are very few that jump on the front lines to affect some kind of change. Besides, right now his responsibilities reside in Washington on the eve of Bush attempting to circumvent the constitution to suit his ass again.
February 15, 2007 @ 10:16 am
‘There are very few that jump on the front lines to affect some kind of change.’
Several of the members who appeared that day marched on Washington with King. And did countless other things during the Civil Rights movement.
So I don’t know if Barack was thinking along those lines…like ‘Fuck them, they just talkin.’ I mean…I would HOPE not.
Barack and his wife’s former law professor from Harvard was there as well, not exactly a bunch of ‘hacks’.
February 15, 2007 @ 11:30 am
I think the only problem is that most of them have forgotten what it was like to put themselves out there in physical danger. Barack is stepping into the sniper’s scope unfortunately.
February 16, 2007 @ 10:30 am
I just feel that a black politician has a lot more to offer the black community thewn just a failed run for the presidency. We have so much shit we gotta take care of as a people and I just think "making a pont" by running for office is not what we need right now. Most of America barely knows what his stances are. All the see is "the black guy running for office" and thats not what we need. He trails Hillary 2 to 1 for the black vote !!!!!
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