Today it was announced by the media that ancestors on the White side of Barak Obama's family owned slaves. I find this to be an interesting coincidence that the media chose the very same day that Obama is to speak at a major civil rights commemoration in front of a predominately African American audience to make this news. I also find it equally curious that this happened within a few days of the "surprise" public discovery that Al Sharpton's ancestors were owned by the ancestors of arch-segregationist Strom Thurmmond. While it is somewhat strange that there is an ancestral connection between Sharpton and Thurmond what is even stranger is the publicly exaggerated kabuki display of disgust, revulsion and anger Sharpton has been expressing about the vileness of the institution of slavery as he has been making the rounds on various talk shows. One would get the impression watching Sharpton recount the awfulness of life as a slave these past few days that he only just realized these degradations with the Thurmond discovery.(Read about Sharptons secret relationship with Republican funding here) I find it hard to believe that all these events were not orchestrated in another attempt to alienate Obama from Black voters.
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The main question is who might be engineering this and who stands to benefit.
- While it is a well worn sentiment in the black community that we never elect our so called Black leaders many of these "leaders" leverage tremendous power and perks by working in the advancement of African Americans. These media designated leaders gain and maintain their power by brokering between the African American community and various power structures. One of the things that are not as well reported is the behind the scenes power plays to be the supreme spokesmen. I don't begrudge them for this any more than any other politicians (elected or not). What does concern me is that these Black "leaders" will tear down the first truly viable African American candidate for president because he threatens their way of life. While an Obama presidency will not mean the end of the traditional Black leadership it definitely will dis-empower some major power brokers as well as up end the leadership hierarchy. Where will Jackson, Sharpton, etc be when the most powerful man in the world is of African descent -someone who has spent the bulk of his adult years community organizing in African American communities?
- Up until Maureen Dowd instigated the back in forth between the Clinton camp and Obama's camp Hillary Clinton had been enjoying impressively high poll numbers among African Americans by virtue of Bill Clinton being the so called first Black president. (Does anyone remember the sista Soulja incident anymore?) And while the mainstream media was busy prognosticating who won the fight, most deciding it was Hillary and how it took the luster off of Obama, Clinton's poll numbers among African Americans have begun to drop steeply while Obama's is making huge gains. The real reason that some people joke that Bill Clinton was the first Black president wasn't because he likes BarBQ and has a Southern drawl. It's because the Right repeatedly attempted to destroy him by publicly humiliating him over and over again, one of the tactics that have been used on the African American community for ages. It is for this same reason Clinton can't "deck" Obama without decking her African American poll numbers which I suspect her camp has figured out. How else might she compete with Obama for African American voters? hhhhmmmmm.