I guess this is why it was big enough news when an exclusively Black organization that looks nothing like the NAACP recently protested the war in Afghanistan by marching in Washington DC. The march was put together by Omali Yeshitela's Black is Black Coalition.
One headline that ran the story read "Black radicals protest Obama":
A coalition of black radicals and their allies gathered in Washington DC to assert the continued need for the Black Nationalist and anti-war agendas in the era of Barack Obama.
After a marathon rally in Malcolm X Park lasting over 5 hours, the Black Is Back Coalition led a march to the White House.
Speaker after speaker lambasted Barack Obama (as well as other members of the black political elite) as nothing more than a new black face on the same old white capitalist imperialism.
“Sure Obama is better than George Bush,” anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan said. “The corn on my big toe is better than George W. Bush. That doesn’t mean we should elect him president.” “The amount of money Obama is giving to the banks is reaching Alice in Wonderland numbers,” journalist Glenn Ford maintained. Pam Africa of the Move Coalition was harshest of all, referring to Obama as a “punk”.
A number of issues were addressed in addition to the Obama administration. The connection between attacks on Muslim immigrants and racism against African Americans was a constant theme, and a poster of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah was in prominent display at the front of the rally. Speakers stressed the continued need for reparations for slavery as well as for solidarity with the Palestinians against the Israeli State. Obama’s refusal to support Durban II was mentioned briefly as well as gentrification, the sub-prime housing crisis and the difficulty of mobilizing anti-war forces in the age of Obama.
Black radicals? Wow, I never knew that 60s meme was still alive. But hey, I guess when a group of people lead by the efforts of a Black organization in a protest against Obama, they must be radical. I mean after all: every single solitary Black person voted for the man because of the color of his skin, right?
I guess this is a fair assumption considering that the perception seems to be that all the protests by teabagers and fringe elements of the right-wing to be racist in nature. Also, I guess speaking out and up about racism is in fact a radical act considering our climate of post-racialness.
Yep, those guys have the "Uncle Toms", but the "Black Radicals" had Cindy Sheehan at their protest. Which is kinda funny because there has been a noticeable difference in the coverage received by anti-war protesters since the last administration was in office. Seriously, where is the media coverage of anti-war protesters the likes of when George Bush was in office? Surely they're not all focused on health care reform, right?
Look, I'm an Obama supporter, but I'm against wars that are supposedly in the best interest of Americans - American corporations who profit from them that is. That said, it makes me proud to see a group like Black is Black Coalition do just what they did. It makes me proud because it to me it's paradoxical, in that it shows that we're not as monolithic as often perceived.
Personally, who better is there than Black people, or people of color, to speak out against American military action over-seas as we know all too well the effects of colonialism and imperialism that is profit driven. As the president of the United States, with a continued interest in these wars, Barack Obama is, essentially White power in Black face.
I'll stop right there for now and pick this up in another post. Yep, I'll wait for all the hate of fellow Obama supporters to come forth, and then I'll address them accordingly. In the mean time, have a laugh on me, especially since we all look alike:
