Monday, March 17, 2008

Can I get an amen?


"Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in"

~~Michael Corleone-The Godfather~~

I bet the "O" man is feeling like Michael Corleone right about now. Of course some of us knew all along that A-merry-ca wouldn't let the "O" man forget who he is. The most famous face in A-merry-ca right now belongs to my homie, Pastor Jeremiah Wright, who supposedly made some inflammatory statements about these Divided States of A-merry-ca. The guy is everywhere. FAKE NEWS, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, You Tube....you get the picture. FAKE NEWS has been riding this story for a year now, and praying that it would get picked up. Well, they finally got their wish, and it could sink the "O" man big time. But to quote someone a read recently; "since when is it a crime to be angry?" Shit, if it was, I would be doing life right about now. "Politico" calls the good Reverend's rhetoric "deeply racially confrontational." Translated; it makes white folks uncomfortable.

But I honestly have to shake my head at the irony. This little dust up would not have happened if the "O" man was not a church going man in the first place. But here he is on the verge of losing a dream of a life time because of the words of his pastor. They are uncomfortable words, and they are the last thing A-merry-cans want to hear. Black folks we recognize those words don't we? We have heard sermons like this many times before. When our preachers preach to us, they talk to us as if they are sitting around out dinner table. They try to shock us to make a point, and they don't mince words. They always try to hit us in the gut and appeal to our raw emotions to make a point. "Ahh field how do you know? You are a god hating gnostic, who hasn't stepped foot in a church since his baptism..." Yeah but my daddy was a preacher, and a damn good one. My daddy actually taught preachers how to preach, (Theology and Homiletics) so I think I know a thing or two about this subject, preachers.

But sadly for the "O" man, a vast amount of A-merry-cans will never understand his preacher. They will never understand him because they have never stepped foot in a black church. They will hear the good Reverend ranting against A-merry-ca and all of its ills, and implying that 911 was an example of A-merry-ca's "chickens coming home to roost ", and they will be furious. They will want to know how he can say that "rich white people run the country" (So where is the false statement there?). They will want to know how the "O" man could have sat in this man's church for 20 years and not be influenced by him. They will say that it's the "O" man's true feelings, and that his wife is a closet militant who puts her black race first. They will say that the "O" man will get into power and push only issues that effect black people. Issues like poverty, crime, unfair sentencing, and failing schools. They will say it, and I for one hope that they will be right.

63 comments:

Francis Holland said...

I hope all of your readers will sign the "Concede Now, Hillary!" Petition sponsored by the Afrosphere Action Coalition.

Field, I'm with you! Do you remember the days when Black people wondered if we and our experience would be mentioned at all during the white-mens-foot-race that was the presidential contest? Well, because of Barack Obama and the media's interest in him, whites are going to learn things about Blacks that they never wanted to concern themselves with or acknowledged. That much is for certain.

The good news is that the focus on Pastor Wright effectively convinces all of America that Obama is a church-going man and a Christian. This is a BETTER way of establishing that than six months of Sundays in the church with the news media tagging along!

Anonymous said...

~
http://www.punahou.edu/

What is Obama going to do about edumacation Field?

Send all the colludz to his alma mater?

Punahou School
`

Christopher Chambers said...

Come on man. He just needs to stop being a lightweight egg-headed faggot and go on Fox, etc. and say what you just said. JFK became president b/c he had a gangsta daddy and had LBJ wasVP, who was scarier than a mutha. O man needs a gangsta and an LBJ type. He needs to show some South Side. If he can't do that, he doesn't deserve to be president. You don't "lower yourself" unless you act as crazy as they are. Unless you are any number of these niggahs in hip hop or sports, or who write these whore and thug novels, or appear as stereotypes in TV shows and film or videos.

Fighting back--DARING people to be scum and then laughing at their folly--that's the way to do it. Indeed, I bet that's what the Rev. is telling him now.

burpster said...

I'm not sure what the uproar is all about? The MSM pretty much focused the spotlight on Obama and Clinton right from the get go. The other DEM. candidates barely got any face time compared to hill and barry. So, now everyone is all agog when that same media starts doing hit pieces on the very people they directed voters to.

American politics and voters are outta this freakin' world. :)

rikyrah said...

Christopher,

You crack me up. I'll say this...you stay on message, for you have been saying this for awhile.

O man needs a gangsta and an LBJ type. He needs to show some South Side. If he can't do that, he doesn't deserve to be president.

Won't he turn into the 'Angry Black Man' if he does this?

Field,

As far as your original post, ICAM with you. LOL at you using the Godfather reference.

There isn't a Black person in America who is surprised by Jeremiah Wright's MESSAGE or TONE. Even Mama said, ' Lord, why'd he have to go and scare the White people like that?'

Anyone Black has heard some form of this their entire lives.

It was interesting on MTP yesterday, when all David Broder could talk about was Wright's tone - something Michelle Norris of NPR pointed out. She thought it was interesting that Broder pointed out the TONE and ignored the SUBSTANCE of the issue. Wright scared White folks to death, and that's the problem.

Someone needs to flip the script the next time they ask WHY Obama didn't leave the church. I'd say, if you're Catholic, why didn't YOU leave the church after finding out that they covered for DECADES for PEDOPHILES. WHY did YOU stay?

Riddle me that.

Ann Brock said...

Field the problem is the media is trying to make Pastor Wright statement be who Obama is and it's not sticking because Obama had establish him self before this.

Obama is not and angry black man no matter how they try to paint him that way. A black man yes but not an angry one.

Anonymous said...

This Rev. Wright controversy has been blown WAYYY out of proportion. I guess America never intended for the O' man to become president. They've tried to sabotage him every step of the way. At least everyone knows he's not a muslim and goes to church. It will be by the grace of God himself for Obama to get through this now.

Anonymous said...

Yo Field,
This is what you get when you try to appease white folks. They got him on the run and he ain't even talking shit. His pastor spoke the truth and white folks need to get over and understand black folks history. We have been in these United States since 1619. Stop letting white folks plead ignorance about the past and present racial realities of this country. Mofos in the media and these Obamaholics need to realize that white folks have a plan to kill any discussion of race or racism. The game is on and it ain't even the second quarter. Now I hear is going to explain the black church to white America. Give me a f*ckin break people. Is Obama going to sell his soul for this office?

Anonymous said...

Stay strong, people. The more the MSM tries to spin this, the better Obama will come out of this. I checked Rasmussen's Cali poll and in the last eight days Obama increased his lead over McCain by two points. In that same time period, Hillary lost four points.

I feel very confident that after Obama makes his speech tomorrow that it will be Game. Set. Match. for Hillary and the MSM.

Francis, do I have to be Black to sign that petition? I'm serious because a number of people I know are tired of Hillary's shit and we'd like to help in any way.

Imhotep said...

FieldN, New to your blog. I'm a supporter of Obama, but I feel the brotha has been too reactive lately, and needs to become more proactive. He want to protray this non-threatening black man, well it ain't working. He don't need to go malcolm on them, but he needs to tell them a thing or two.

On this Rev. Wright situation, Obama needs to tell white america, that we all don't share the same history, and our history is different, but no less valid. Try being oppressed for a couple century, and see if you would not say F**k amerika.

The conciet of white folks, that if you talk about race, they gonna pull all your shit, and deamonize you.

F**k amerika, keep your white house, keep your hyprocy, and keep your religion, the one that allows your to enslave, opppress and discriminate.

Anonymous said...

I forgot to mention that I was home watching CNN's Situation Room this afternoon and Jack Cafferty and Jeffery Toobin thought this was blown out of proportion. Gloria Borger? Someone needs to tell her to shut the hell up and quit reading Clinton talking points.

Blinders Off said...

No, we cannot have a black POTUS; we must do all we can to scare our people to stop voting for a black man. Their tactics are working and it does not surprise me. Hell, there is more to come before the primary is over. Every dynasty fall and the USA is already on her damn knees and it would take a freaking miracle for her to stand up again.

What is happening to discourage people from voting for Obama is probably a blessing in the skies. People will be begging to have him in 2012 once Hillary or McCain knock the USA off her knees and flat on her a$$. I am freaking sick and tired of it all!

Anonymous said...

Does this means that people will finally believe that Obama is a Christian? I often wonder during my time sitting in church do the other members really listen to what the pastor is saying or for that matter not saying. I can bet that no one can remember on hand the number of homilies they heard attending any church service. In fact, how people actual read the bible or can give me analysis of the Song of Solomon as I've never heard a single minister ever give a sermon from that book as it is one of most erotic pieces of literature written in history. Ladies, you are wasting reading Zane, lol.

I have sat in many church sermons and wonder what in the world this person yelling from the pulpit trying to convey to me. I sit there in amazement because it is just like reading a description from one of the Museum of Modern Art explaining one its exhibit. For example: contemporary artists uses art as a synergy of motion as it translate through time and space creating a connection between design and elasticity of the mind. And you say to yourself what the f--- does that mean, which I did by the way as I to write copy for exhibit to air on the station.

I know how black ministers are when they are preaching, and I ignore most of them because I do not believe they understand what they say much less actually believe it. Yes, I am a little cynical. Remember people even Desmond Tutu once said that they came and give us bible, and took our land in the process. Now I do not know about anyone else, but I don't think that's a fair trade. Great post Field.

Christopher Chambers said...

Assertiveness doesn't mean angry black man. Hell, even Drew Peterson and his lawyer appear on "Nancy Grace" about the death of his damn wives. O man can certainly get on TV and say look, this is our thing. And this is a preacher thing. Look at loonies on the right, he could say. Hell, I've seen more scary preachers on "Borat."

The O man is a lightweight he needs to grow a pair and be assertive, be strong. Even if it literally means he gets up and says, "I know many will paint me as the stereotypical 'angry black man' but..."

Field--I was at the cold beach. How was DC? Any dudes ask out on a date in Dupont Circle? A gay white giy I used to work with at USDOJ told me he loved "Caribbean men" because they were "strong and quiet," rather than "full of bravado" like American brothers (he was into black men). Life is strange...

field negro said...

"Someone needs to flip the script the next time they ask WHY Obama didn't leave the church. I'd say, if you're Catholic, why didn't YOU leave the church after finding out that they covered for DECADES for PEDOPHILES. WHY did YOU stay?"

Hmmmm, the little pedophile issue...a riddle indeed.

"What is happening to discourage people from voting for Obama is probably a blessing in the skies. People will be begging to have him in 2012 once Hillary or McCain knock the USA off her knees and flat on her a$$. I am freaking sick and tired of it all!"

BO, you might be right, I think it will also wake up a bunch of foks(especially the young ones) and make them realize just where they live, and what they are dealing with.

Francis, great job on that campaign. You are truly the hardest working man in blog business:)

field negro said...

"A gay white giy I used to work with at USDOJ told me he loved "Caribbean men" because they were "strong and quiet,"

Well he wouldn't love my black ass (a like that play on words) because I can't shut up.

Chris, I do believe that it's time for the "O" man to show a little anger and righteous indignation. He needs to let us write that speach for him that he is going to deliver tomorrow. Now he would probably lose the general election, but at least he will get the shit off his chest.

Anonymous said...

Yup, Field, this guy upsets the "WSZ" as you so aptly put it...the irony is that, just last week, "O" was a stealth Muslim,(according to Gomer) and now he's a radical Black "christian" (emphasis on the small "c"), again according to Gomer...and all the while, Billary just smiles, smug in her little plan...I've said it here before--get used to saying, reading. hearing :"President McCain"

Hell, if I were Black, I'd be angry, too...

Anonymous said...

It aint over til that blonde lady sings! Come on yall..... have a little faith.. when I was walkin home from work today, I saw Obama volunteers on almost every block in Center City (downtown philly to all you who don't know philly) talking to people and signing people up. They were so friggin smart, they were positioned at all the bars where folks were coming for St. Paddy Day beers. And, I am starting to see Obama signs popping up in windows everywhere. FYI, three fourths of those volunteers were white, south asian and latinos... all were young people.... I am gonna breathe through all of this and again, I ask you all to have a little faith in the O'man.He is not done and it is not over.

Anonymous said...

field, you are the best. you should write a book. the oman has got to you and you don't seem like an easy sell. he must be good. LOUDER AND MORE DISSONANT. i think they are looking to him for leadership. acting out like young children who need limits or a nap....andy

Anonymous said...

I do not think that this is going to be a problem for Obama. Barrack is the last of a dying breed of Black men. He is not an O-R-E-O. He is chocolate filled in the middle. He is afrocentric. He is not a black man, he is a brother. He loves black people and all other people. Tommorow he is going to have to speak the truth. He is going to have to speak from the heart. If this someone backfires and messes up his chances then so be it. I can tell that he is a good man...a great man. He has to do what he has to do and I have faith that he will be okay. If he were just some handerkerchief head negro, this would not be an issue. I am sure that he is probably doing some soul searching tonight. God Bless him. The more I learn about him...the more I love this guy.

Your fellow field negro,
Ava

Paul said...

right on, field. one of your best no doubt.

Christopher said...

I do believe that it's time for the "O" man to show a little anger and righteous indignation.

Field,

We were talking about this tonight while watching Tweety and eating dinner.

I told Jim I wished Barack would pound his fist on the table and raise his voice and show the nation some Southside Chicago. But Jim reminded me that as a black man in a position of power, you have to walk a narrow path or risk being tarred and feathered with white America's notion of the angry, black man.

The insidious thing is the Borg Queen understands this and she taunts Barack and exploits this constraint. I so despise her.

ms-teacher said...

The ironic thing about all of this is that it kind of puts to rest the whole "he's a Muslim." That's why I think Fox News sat on this for as long as they did.

Anonymous said...

Good news is the black blind guy - David Patterson was sworn in as Governor today in NY.

Big Man said...

It's funny posted on this man. I know it's been everywhere, but I just got around to commenting on this whole thing. This one more hurdle for Obama to overcome if he wants to get to the ultimate prize.

Y'all know what Frederick Douglass said.

check out my post on this if you are so inclined.

www.ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

The MSM will continue to run this issue into the ground, especially while the big heads continue to blow it out of proportion; all while McCain's identical situation is treated as a settled matter. The difference is melanin as far as I'm concerned, in the overall contest for President. My greatest concern and disappointment is the double standard. I mean, I know that the Clinton and McCain management staff work for the same agency, but for real... We are all familiar with the 'black tax' but damn! O needs to do an entire address for something he didn't even say? I'm saying...

When Geraldine Ferraro lost her mind by saying that Obama is only where he is because he's Black, and Hillary Clinton was asked about it she said simply, "I didn't say it". End of conversation.

John McCain says that "when he (Hagee) endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believes in". He has addressed this situation on multiple occasions, but at the end of his conversation, this is the point to which he returns.
Why can't Senator Obama be afforded the same luxury? How I wish he could just own the situation and say, ' yall know what, that's how he rolls up in here sometimes, but I didn't say it and everything he says isn't necessarily my opinion' and keep it moving.

I have belonged to the same church since 1981 with a minimum of 4 pastors on the roster at any given time. Each pastor, by design, has their own style, and each 'speaks' to a different subset of the congregation. Do I embrace everything that each pastor ascribes to? Do I faithfully fall in line with their teachings without any cognitive effort on my own to discern truth and practical application in my own life? Absolutely not. I go to church on Sundays, not cult meetings.

Everyone at my church, leadership included, has an opinion on any given subject, but their opinion is not necessarily mine. There's a reason Bible class at a Black church can end with an argument just as often as it does with a prayer. It's a guarantee over the course of 1 year, that one of those pastors is going to say some bullshit that either I don't agree with, something to edgy for others or I feel is scripturally inaccurate. But fast forward 27 years and I'm still there along with the 500+ other members. And even in disagreement, our church is very active in the community, and agressive in its committment to the upliftment and empowerment of the Black family. I mean, who can we steadfastly rely on? The government??? We provide our own scholarships, conduct our own fundraisers and take care of our community/diaspora in various ways, including environmental activism, and foreign missionary boards. A lot of people don't understand the fundamental role that the Black church has in anchoring a community, and I can understand why the Obama's remain at their church, and don't see a problem. I know others will, but hopefully more won't, or at the least, they will attempt an understanding.

I have faith though, and I genuinely feel that for those who were not going to vote for Senator Obama, this issue serves as justification, and for those who were skittish, this may also serve as a final push toward the other side. For those, like me, who truly feel that Senator Obama will serve this country well as president, then this is just another drop in the cesspool of political bullshit attacks that I sincerely hope he survives. If not, this has the potential to relieve the superdelegates and others in the dem party of wrongdoing in 'finding' a way to proceed with the coronation of HRC.

On the side, and this has been bothering me; as old as this story is, and the more smug and sure that she (HRC) and her campaign staff sound like she's going to get the nomination regardless of the numbers, the more I feel like her camp had everything to do with this story blowing up the way it has. (Fox has been beating this horse for a year) Wolfson just said, "there is NO WAY he is going to win this". With the numbers the way they are, that's a pretty assumptious statement.

Hopefully, a large enough population of the electorate will not let their fears and prejudices rule the day as they have most recently, much to the detriment of the country. (see George W. Bush)

I take Senator Obama at his word that he and Rev. Wright do not share identical views on all things. His time serving in the state and US senate fall into his time at the church and its obvious from his votes that he does not lean toward radical action/thought when handling the people's business. Isn't that what really matters?

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Imhotep said:
"I'm a supporter of Obama, but I feel the brotha has been too reactive lately, and needs to become more proactive."
-----------
Imhotep: Good news. I've seen three speeches by Obama in the last two days, including a speech with a question and answer period about an hour ago on CNN. Like you, i've seen the media pull out bits and pieces of his speeches for their own programmatic purposes. But in viewing the entire speeches, I saw Obama as poised, focused, on message.

True, from time to time, he would pause to clarify his position, or to make clear his difference with Sen. Clinton on a particular issue such as health care or Iraq, etc. But, by and large, he stayed on message.

The last speech I saw was especially focused and forward-looking to a future of an Obama presidency. In the process, he showed that he's more than a speaker ala Ronald Reagan reading a telepromptor then leaving the room but a profound and detailed thinker as well. Indeed, he engaged in a fairly long Q&A session, providing details responses on issues like stem cells, reproductive rights, veterans' rights, education, even the high number of blacks and latinos in prisons and what should be done about it.

The Obama I saw wasn't reactive but on message and forward-looking, helping voters to envision an Obama presidency and how that presidency could improve this country.

I'm no obamaholic, but I do feel that, if America doesn't elect this guy, it will be yet another missed opportunity to at least begin to get this country back on track.

Anonymous said...

Hey Field,
I'm new to your blog.....Enjoy the way you put it all together so clearly. I feel the O man at this point can only defeat himself. I expect that he will bring it on big time tomorrow. Kudos to the new Govenor Patterson.

A.F. said...

*"Politico" calls the good Reverend's rhetoric "deeply racially confrontational." Translated; it makes white folks uncomfortable.*

Ha! That is right. I wish somebody would do a "To Whom It May Concern" feature story that showcases Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Allen Ginsberg, etc, etc, and introduce the (non-reading, racist) nation to the idea that it's not just (OMG!) black people saying the U.S. really had it coming and also that Wright nor any of these other intellectuals said, "The people in the Twin Towers/Pentagon had it coming," which they didn't and nobody has said they did.

*Issues like poverty, crime, unfair sentencing, and failing schools. They will say it, and I for one hope that they will be right.*

Amen!

Undercover Black Man said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Undercover Black Man said...

Well, Field, one thing Rev. Wright said absolutely wrong is when he spread the myth that the U.S. government had "infected African-American men with syphilis."

Never happened.

If you're gonna talk shit about U.S. history, at least come correct with the facts.

Anonymous said...

~
“But in my work... I have found absolutely no evidence that the men were intentionally injected by the government doctors,” he said. “And maybe we can clear that up right now on this show.”
http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/

Not exactly an absolute denial, ucbm.

ucbm, no response to the AIDS claim?

Hmmm, no direct evidence that decimating the buffaloe was intended to starve the plains Indians

Hmmm, do direct evidence that trading infected blankets to the Indians was intended to decimate those Indians through plague

Reasonable people can come to their own conclusions
`

Anonymous said...

Undercover,

You're absolutely right. The Tuskegee Experiment had 399 men who already had the advanced stages of the disease.

I can't believe how shit like this is not widely known. (shakes head)

Undercover Black Man said...

Not exactly an absolute denial, ucbm.

Nsangoma, you break my heart. What part of "absolutely no evidence" don't you understand?

The reality is fucked-up enough. Don't believe in fantasies! People who spread made-up bullshit are not to be taken seriously about anything. Not by rational people.

Anonymous said...

nsangoma.....
My response to the AIDS accusation is wtf? Wright is wrong about this one.... back in the 80s, it was gay men in the US that were contracting this disease and let me tell you.... fucking NO ONE!!!! from the religious community gave a shit.... government sure as hell didnt give a shit, and most of straight america did not give a shit. Gays were hated, ostrisized even more than we already are, blamed and the right wingers were celebrating our death. When straights started getting this disease, then and only then, did the push for cures, treatment, funding start getting results. And what did the gay community do? We welcomed our straight brothers and sisters into our support groups, we struggled with them for a cure and today, many of the activists who push for global aids funding and cures are STILL the queer community...... that includes the horrible rising rate of aids in the black community... go to any aids outreach, support, or activist events, and there you will find us, still...
Sorry this is a rant... but same shit happened with the Nazi camps... people dont wanna remember that before the jews, it was the gays and gypsies that were taken... test to see tolerance of their disappearance.... that is where the pink triangle comes from.....

Christopher said...

Jody is 100% correct vis a vis HIV/AIDS and the government's lack of response in the 1980s.

My hometown of San Francisco was hit early and hard by the epidemic. I was in college at the time and the lack of Federal leadership under that that asshole Saint Reagan was appalling. The old fucker wouldn't even say the utter the letters "AIDS" until 1987. By then, the epidemic had 7 years to work its magic and kill thousands of victims. All I knew to do was participate in AIDS Runs and AIDS Walks, and raise cash to help care for the sick and dying. It was a terrible time and I lost many friends -- gay and straight alike between 1981 and 1996.

Just imagine if the Feds had given a damn and pumped cash into research early on? It wasn't until Dr. David Ho in 1996, working on a Federal grant, discovered triple cocktail drug therapy would prevent the virus from killing its host. How many men, women and children died needlessly in the first 15 years of the epidemic?

I blame Republican Ronald Reagan and I spit on his grave.

Anonymous said...

~
One person's: I have found absolutely no evidence ...
http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/

does not mean it did not happen.
`

Ether Blade said...

I will be so glad when all of this bullshit ends. The media is obcessed with this. If we are not careful McCain will take the presidential race in a landslide. We should have nipped this in the bud a long time ago seriously. Either Hill or Obama..pick somebody damn it and off of this dirty stuff get to the issues.

Anonymous said...


My response to the AIDS accusation is wtf? Wright is wrong about this one....

jody 7:23 AM

Rev. Wright is going just a bit further back into time along the AIDS timeline:

Polio vaccines and the origin of AIDS

http://www.google.com/search?
hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS254&q
=rolling+stone+on+aids&btnG=Search
`

vdubjb said...

The Tiger Woods of politics is finished. It was a nice run, but scared whitey are going to run to Mccain in droves. Couple this with republicans voting for Hillary and you have a recipe for epic fail. Trying to casually dismiss the comments was a shitty way of dealing with it.

Anonymous said...

~
Obama is currently speaking on T.V., he just may be able to rap his way out of this.
`

Big Man said...

Nsangoma

You must have really had a bad experience as a black man. Really.

Anyway, the speech was outstanding and exhaustive. I'm totally satisfied.

Anonymous said...

~
You must have really had a bad experience as a black man. Really.
big man 11:50 AM

Field, where doth thou get dhese kind of Ne-gre-tah-roes from?
`

Anonymous said...

Just finished reading the full context of Obama's speech and I thought it it was well done, concise and I think he hit home all the points he needed to with this one. Obama 08

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

Nsangoma: Stop talking nonsense when you're being a witness to one of the most historical and exciting presidential races of our time...

field, I just listened to Obama's speech and the talking head's response to it. Generally, they said that this was a speech he had to give, that he gave a good speech, this speech won't end the discussion but, but if nothing else, it has made a contribution in opening up a new discussion so we can move past it.

But, field, here's what the talkingheads didn't say: That this was THE 3 a.m. phone call for Barack. Why, his entire presidential race is based on a post-racial politics that even Ray Charles on heroin could see was being derailed by the continueal discussion about Rev. Wright's incendiary comments. That made this speech critical.

His entire presidential candidacy was in the balance. How did he handle it? With painful honesty, transparency, and integriy. He admitted he had heard fiery rhetoric from Rev. Wright before, disagreed with it but didn't quit Rev. Wright's church. Nor did he quit on Rev. Wright. Basically, he said he couldn't quit on Rev. Wright, because Rev. Wright represents, to some degree the black church, the black community; he couldn't quit on either because they were all a part of him...

In confronting the issue of race, Obama has already given us a good idea how he will confront issues as a US president, which, evidently, would be very different from Hillary. When Hillary had her 3 a.m. moment (national health care), she blew it by trying to do it with her own White House and corporate clique and in secrecy; and it fell apart. When she had her second 3 a.m. call (a vote to give Pres. Bush authorization to go to war against Iraq), she blew that too, giving Bush the okay to engage in a pre-emptive, illegal war. Why, even she admitted that she didn't even read the National Intelligence Estimate that everyone was supposed to read before voting.

Unlike Hillary, Obama answered the phone and said no to war with Iraq. Now, he just answered the phone again and said no to racial politics and, in the process, challenged us (the America voter) to examine, reexamine the racism in our hearts so we can become a better country.

field, I ain't no obamaholic, and I detest the lame, disorganized democratic party. But Obama just won my vote.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Obama's finished. His speech was spot on.
The truth is that Obama is as white as he is black. He stands in the middle. He feels both sides. That's one reason everybody can unite behind him. The rest of us can learn something from him.

I hope a-merry-cans can of all colors follow his example of feeling each other's pain, and speaking out against the real enemy: f**ed up rich people and their corporations are eating us alive. They don't care if its the dark or light meat-they want the whole chicken, whoever's pot it came out of.

Anonymous said...

It was friggin brilliant! I thought that was the best speech on race in American I have EVER heard from a politician,... and he was brilliant in its presentation. He showed today just what kind of a president he would be. White, Middle Aged Lesbian for Obama 08!

Anonymous said...

Funny how they forgot the priests and the Bakkers and the Swaggarts and the Hinns.

Mold

Anonymous said...

Wow, I can only imagine what the hooded sisters at Tennessee Guerrilla Women will have to say about the speech. They'll probably play it down to him being a pretty 'speech maker', or talk about how many flags are behind him... ooops, too late...

chamblee54 said...

This does not speak well for Jesus.

Anonymous said...

Hi my name is NSangoma and I'm an idiot. I constantly make posts seeking attention from people and talk a lot of nonsense. Please ignore me. Please don't give me any attention. I don't deserve it. I hate being black. I hate myself. I need 5500 years of therapy to fix my fucked up mind.

Anonymous said...

http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/2008/03/obama-does-damage-control-with-speech.html

Imhotep said...

Obama did an excellent with his speech, but as we know, whites and blacks see things differently. I can't wait to hear the critism from white folks, You know they are going to critize. Basically, they are saying he has not passed the test of being a house nigga.

There were times during the brotha's campaign where I thought he was too passive. Not today, the brother stood up and told america about it's original sin, and the modern day consequences of that sin.

Barack is the man to lead us, but america with all it's whitness, will not accept her best and brighest as the leader. Instead, america will default to what she knows, old, know nothing white folks.

Anonymous said...

I've spent all my youth looking across the tracks at de good white people. My daddy, Ruckus used to say, "boy, ain't nuttin' bedda dan de white man. His ice is colder, his technology beyond our negrud comprehenson, and his values forebah respected and rivilled. But since you cain't be one, mah sun, at least hate on yo' black self and any negro thet look lahkt you."

My daddy ruckus went own to be famous for his wurbs:

daddy

Undercover Black Man said...

NSangoma wrote: "One person's: I have found absolutely no evidence ... does not mean it did not happen."

Ah. But to declare that it happened -- publicly, loudly, repeatedly -- requires evidence.

And you can point to none.

Anonymous said...

imhoptep,
Go read the blogs, the response on new york times, and various other places... overwhelmingly, people are responding positively..... he has connected with all people on this one.. which is what he needed to do. He did it and many are saying, best speech they have heard and or read... and more importantly, they see it as the seal of the deal for his nomination.

SouthernGirl2 said...

"Hi my name is NSangoma and I'm an idiot. I constantly make posts seeking attention from people and talk a lot of nonsense. Please ignore me. Please don't give me any attention. I don't deserve it. I hate being black. I hate myself. I need 5500 years of therapy to fix my fucked up mind.
-----------------------------------
True!


Barack Obama put it down today! He hit it head on! Yes, he is definitely the leader America needs! Pure honestly from the soul!

A President indeed!

Unknown said...

Oh Field! Did you hear the nonsense that came out of Oman's mouth today in your hometown? While I'm happy that a brother is in the running for the presidency,, it saddens me that each time he speaks he feels the need to point out his "biracial" heritage. Is this a way of slightly distancing himself from the Black community? I hate to sound off but I am so tired of hearing the whole "i got a white mamma" battle cry. It doesn't matter in this country what color your mother is, if your a$$ looks black then you are black. Then he went on to discuss how he was raised by the white grandmother who didn't care for black men. what is he talking about? why is he being the acceptable negro of politics?

Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...

"it saddens me that each time he speaks he feels the need to point out his "biracial" heritage. Is this a way of slightly distancing himself from the Black community?"
------------------------
librascorp:
I heard the speech and haven't read the transcript yet. But from what I heard, Obama wasn't trying to distance himself from black people but rather provide some context for the reason that he repudiated Rev. Wright's incendiary comments but not Wright the man. I heard him say something to the effect that his white grandmother and Rev. Wright were a part of him, a part of America.

SouthernGirl2 said...

"it saddens me that each time he speaks he feels the need to point out his "biracial" heritage. Is this a way of slightly distancing himself from the Black community?"
-----------------------------------
Then you haven't been listening & you haven't really been following Obama. He never wanted to get into the racial issue. He was forced to! Obama hardly ever mentions his white mother. You're missing the point by a mile!

He mentioned his white mother today to let America know who Barack is, what he has struggled through from both sides, & what Barack stands for. Barack showed himself as a leader--Very Presidential!

Anonymous said...

librascorp1020 ... You miss the whole point of the speech. He was saying simply that Rev. Wright just like his white half is apart of him.The man is biracial people! just like most of black America we have something in us of a different race.

I mean what was the guy suppose to pretend his white half doesn't exist? They were trying to label him as though he hated all white people. So, his pointing out he is half white was needed. I don't see anybody getting upset over him saying his wife carries the blood of slaves and slave masters.

Unknown said...

no i don't think so. i read the transcript and little by little i'm seeing through the bs. initially i though he was a great candidate, and then today, honestly i don't see how mentioning his white ancestry has anything to do with the isssues bay. he was not forced to do or say anything. quite frankly i don't know that he has the backbone to anything but be yet another presidential "yes man" in office. he is the perfect acceptable negro. no backbone when it comes to hard hitting issues and the speech today said it all. i read the transcript, and i didn't think he needed to explain anything on behalf of his pastor let alone take it to a level where he's appeasing mainstream voters by putting in the "heart touching" story of his maternal white grandparents or the young white lady Ashley ("There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina..."). Don't get me wrong he started out pretty strong today. But then getting into these little stories, got to me. You tell me what does that have to do with a) the comments made by Rev. Wright [which were grossly misconstrued] and b) the economic crisis in America. He's played both sides of the fence and yet has come up with absolutely nothing plausible other than the same sad "unity" song that's been sung and ignored since the civil rights movement. The only real issue that he has a stronghold on is healthcare, but what about education, and the economy. He has no backbone to really tear into gritty issues. He prefers to play it safe. I think we as black people are so happy to see representation get this far in the presidential race, but there are some real issues here that he's dancing around. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be the great Black American Hero that I'd thought he'd be. however if he did make it into office, his wife seems like the type of woman that would make him tackle the race card without fear!

Big Man said...

Without some form of unity, I'm pretty positive that nothing will change.

And his speeches about the economy and national security are scheduled for later this week.