“Obama Not First U.S. President of African Ancestry” by Alton H. Maddox Jr., founder of the Center

[jody]

for Law & Social Justice at Medgar Evers College.

Interesting perspective by Alton H. Maddox, Jr..

Black people had a reason to be elated on Election Day, but it was not because Obama was the first person of African ancestry to receive keys to the White House. He was the seventh person of African ancestry to be given those keys. Six presidents of African ancestry have preceded him. White supremacists have the power to classify and define all residents in the United States. One drop of African blood will do the trick. This drop of blood must be powerful, because it automatically makes a white person Black.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Assuming that Obama was the first Black president in the United States, this alone is not the legitimate reason for elation. Something else is significant in Obama’s presidential victory. The world has never witnessed a person from an oppressed group at the bottom of a country’s political hierarchy going to its zenith. Although Obama is not a descendant of enslaved Africans, he is a member of a historically despised group in the United States. His wife, Michelle, is a descendant of enslaved Africans. Her life has been negatively affected by both race and the legacy of involuntary servitude. Obama’s life has been negatively affected by race.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Even if Lincoln had not been assassinated, he would have, nonetheless, failed in joining together a divided nation because his plan was to exclude Blacks. Hopefully, Obama will not make the same mistake. Black soldiers saved the Union, and Black votes launched Obama into the White House.

It is amazing that Lincoln and Obama have sought to cement the separatist politics of Hamilton and Jefferson. Two men of African ancestry divided the country, and two men of African ancestry pledged to unite it. A leopard cannot change its spots. Red states and blue states are, respectively, code words for Confederate States of America and "Federalist States of America." United States of America is a misnomer. The election of Obama shows that whites can vote their interests while retaining their ideologies.

ON EDIT ADD: Link to cited article http://blackstarnews.com/?c=135&a=5113

[Occam Bandage]

1. ...

:eyes:

[FrenchieCat]

2. Missed you Jody!

Missed your cynical posts quite a bit. :hi:

[jody]

3. I thought Maddox's statement "It is amazing that Lincoln and Obama have sought to cement the

separatist politics of Hamilton and Jefferson" an apt description of the challenge President Obama faces.

[Occam Bandage]

6. No, that statement is preposterous.

Edit: Arguing against the indefensible is a fool's game.

[jody]

8. Are you saying the cite in #3 is preposterous? Is that not just your opinion vs. Maddox? n/t

[Occam Bandage]

16. Yes, I am. That is a preposterous, unfounded, indefensible statement.

It does not even approach the level of "argument." It is high nonsense, rising almost to the level of meta-political parody.

[jody]

18. ROFLMAO! n/t

[grantcart]

4. Now I know why he was disbarred

[jody]

5. "A 2006 resolution passed by the Council of the City of New York supported Maddox's reinstatement,

but the New York State Attorney General's office has not acted on this request."

[grantcart]

14. so political council members make a political statement and people in the legal

system say no way. Has any other attorney in the US been successfully sued for defamation for statements made in a legal case?

What a class act

Hanson was subjected to a controversial cross examination by defense attorney Alton H. Maddox, whose questions included sexual innuendo and an allegation that Hanson had 'racial hangups'

He does get his name in the newspapers even if he doesn't actually win any cases for his clients.

[jody]

19. Maddox is certainly controversial but then I know many lawyers who fit that mold. n/t

[JoFerret]

35. "Controversial"?

Now what on earth do you mean by that?
The man is a disgrace.

[Egnever]

7. wow

Thats pretty offensive.

[jody]

9. I'm intrigued, which of the many assertions Maddox makes do you find most offensive? n/t

[sampsonblk]

10. He has some good points in there

the last paragraph of the OP is the guy's opinion, which I discount completely.

But the other 3 excerpts in the OP are reasonable and are in line with my study on the subject.

[jody]

17. Agree last paragraph is pure opinion but both Lincoln and Obama face a divided nation, bankrupt both

economically and in terms of foreign policy with Obama receiving 66+ million votes versus McCain with 58+ million votes.

Lincoln died before he could try to reunite a divided nation and Obama has a chance to finish the job.

Perhaps that is the point Maddox is trying to make with his opinion.

[McCamy Taylor]

11. 100% of presidents have come out of Africa....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recent_African_origin_of_modern_humans

[Aristus]

12. Idiotic. Just one of his many inaccuracies: President-elect Obama is not the first man

from the (once) lowest rung of a nation's social ladder to ascend to national leadership. Didn't a member of India's untouchable caste become Prime Minister of India a few years ago?

[John Q. Citizen]

13. The human race traces it's orgins to Africa. So of course all presidents can also.

[RevolutionToday]

15. Stupid, pointless nonanalysis

What the hell is this guy actually saying about Obama's role in this country? He seems to be saying Obama will not help black people in order to unite the country but he doesn't articulate such a position. He even mentions Malcolm X without actually going into what his politics were and the contrasting values.

The "work" of liberal academia is pretty stagnant and mostly worthless when it comes to actually understanding what this election really means for us. Want to read a real piece of researched analysis on the Obama movement? (not the man himself, an interesting figure but not very important to me ultimately) Then read this:

http://www.piratecaucus.com/2008/08/revolutionary-potential-of-obama.html

[suston96]

20. Where we all came from.......? Out of Africa........

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6258753633440143133

[JoFerret]

21. Ah! the very lovely Alton Maddox

Has he been re-instated to the bar?
Did he ever apologize for defaming Steven Pagones?
Does he still support Nifong?

Has he ever apologized to the people of Wappinger Falls?

[jody]

22. My gym friends which I talk to five days a week and several cousins including one lawyer and a

retired NFL star, all African-Americans, agree with the point Maddox is making, that Obama faces the same challenge Lincoln would have faced in uniting a divided nation.

I’m disappointed that so many who post to this thread don’t understand the point that IMO Maddox is trying to make.

[jwirr]

23. Okay I think I missed something: Lincoln, Harding, Cooledge, and

Eisenhower. Who were the other two? I like to play around with genealogy and would like to see for myself.

[jody]

24. I don't know but if one goes back ten generations, the possible genetic inputs at that level alone

is 2 to the 10th power or 1,024.

Go back 20 generations and that level alone has a maximum over 1 million and at 30 generations it's over 1 billion.

Of course the earth's population was probably less than 1 billion 30 generations ago. :shrug:

[Hosnon]

25. Black votes lauched Obama into the White House?

I understand the sentiment but...um...a whole lotta white folks voted for Obama as well.

[jody]

26. Agree but IMO Maddox was recognizing that 55% of Whites voted for McCain.

SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1

[Hosnon]

27. Yeah I understand the sentiment. But that's like saying that blacks launched Prop 8 into law.

Donning flame suit.

[jody]

30. At least Todd Calvin does in his LTTE in todays LA Times.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-saturdaynew15-2008nov15,0,5666214.story?page=2

Cannick's poorly reasoned screed is a transparent distraction from the real issue.

Despite years of oppression, 70% of the black community voted intolerance and discrimination into the California Constitution against another minority group. The rationale is nothing short of bigotry dressed up in the very same religious language that perpetuated the laws against interracial marriage, segregation and separate drinking fountains. Shame on them.

Todd Calvin
Los Angeles

[cali]

28. So the fuck what? More white people voted for Obama than voted for

Kerry. Grab a clue, the dems always lose the white vote.

[jody]

29. "dems always lose the white vote"! Not in all states. Isn't that implied in Maddox's opinion? n/t

[FLAprogressive]

31. But Obama was the first president elected as an African American....

....the others were elected as whites.

[jody]

32. Absolutely, a point that Maddox fails to emphasize. n/t

[DU GrovelBot]

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[dascientist]

34. who are the other 6?