President Obama and the Million Man March

[ProfessionalLeftist]

. . .

We talked about disappointment rather than the victory of having a black President. Something is dreadfully wrong with failing to celebrate this moment in history. Why can’t we celebrate?

It came to me at the end of the debate. Yes, Barack Obama is our President, but something is wrong with the presidency. It’s deep and painful. It hurts to witness what most black people recognize whenever it shows up in conversations about Obama. He’s the President of the United States, yet fails to be respected for what that means. He has won the right to serve our nation; however, he is treated in a way that dishonors his place in leadership.

Black people are suffering because of how that feels whenever we show up with loads of credentials only to leave feeling disrespected. How many of us have to fight to be heard only to be reminded that our message lacks credibility? That’s why we marched that day. We were fed up with being told we’re not good enough. We were then, and we are today, sick and tired of having to do twice as much to be validated among those screaming to destroy the integrity of our place in the room.

There was sadness in the room last night. Most of us felt we failed Obama. We failed him by not protecting him from the attacks that came. We failed to protect him from those consumed with defeating him by any means necessary. We watched as an angry Congressman called him a liar, and Paul Ryan and his cronies did all they could to defeat every effort Obama proposed. We watched the hate, and we felt it deep.

The sadness in the room was due to being tired. We’re tired and depressed. It’s why black people fight whenever a person speaks negatively about Obama. It’s more than politics. It’s deeper than policy decisions. This is personal. This is history, and the way Obama is treated reminds us of how we have been treated.

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http://rev-elution.blogspot.com/2012/10/president-obama-and-million-man-march.html

[1StrongBlackMan]

1. Powerful and well spoken ...

Truth



From the article ...

“You could feel something change after the Million Youth March,” Parker added. “The marches that followed felt more like a family reunion.”

That was my exact wording during and upon my return from the March. Thank you for reminding me of that feeling ... It'll help get me through the noise of this season.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

3. Dunno if you're on twitter but if you are

I suggest following @NewBlackMan at Duke. He puts out a lot of stuff like this. Good one to have on your online radar.

[freshwest]

2. Very true, I don't think those who disdain him so easily realize that his journey could be anyone's.

The 'have to be twice as good' was something I was told, frankly that I had to be in my work. Work faster with better quality in the face of saboteurs, just to stay in place and survive. Since my position wasn't accepted as an equal by many,. One wil be denigrated and insulted. Just because. After years of that, there is an acceptance one will never be respected, just tolerated, a sense of 'just get used to it.' In some ways, it builds character and resilience, in others, deep anger, and then depression. The goalposts get changed in the middle of the game to deny the win. If one dares to celebrate one's success, there is the slap in the face of the taunt, saying the award was not won fairly, or it means nothing at all. This is where we are.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

4. Obama's presidency has IMO really brought this to the fore

No one much talks about it I guess because they're afraid of "angry blacks" accusations or accusations of "playing the race card". And that seems intended to manipulate the subjects to just silently keep taking it. Not sure what the solution is.

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. I think all ...

"minorities" (with the possible exception of the "Model" minorities) have learned/experienced this.

In my middle-school days, though my parents had told me many years before) I had the sole "minority" (a Hispanic woment, passing for Italian) teacher tell me the exact same thing (twice as good to get half as far) and reinforced it by expecting twice as much from me. (

As you mention, such an experience is both character building and maddening. Thank you Ms. DiSilva.