|
In the Era of
Obama, Is There
a Need for a
Black Agenda?
By Dr. Ron
Daniels
When people ask
me whether we
need a Black
Agenda in the
era of Obama, I
am reminded that
much about this
quotation, from
the Preamble to
the National
Black Agenda
adopted in Gary,
Indiana in 1972,
is the reality
today for vast
numbers of
Blacks.
President Barack
Obama speaks
proudly of his
days as an
organizer on the
South Side of
Chicago where
his wife
Michelle was
also raised in a
working class
family. There
are certainly
sections of
Chicago's South
Side which are
still
"crime-haunted
dying grounds."
And, when Mark
Morial,
President/CEO of
the National
Urban League,
recently threw
down the
gauntlet after
releasing the
annual
State of Black
America
Report, which
continues to
show troubling
disparities
between Blacks
and Whites in
education,
health care,
income and
wealth, he was
implicitly
making the case
for the ongoing
need for a Black
Agenda.
The conditions
prevalent in
Black America
thirty-seven
years after the
Gary Convention,
coupled with
this year's
State of Black
America Report,
tempts me to say
that "the more
things change,
the more they
stay the same."
But things have
changed for
Africans in
America.
Indeed, because
of the
Black Political
Convention in
1972, we now
have thousands
of Black elected
officials
occupying
positions as
local school
board
representatives,
sheriffs,
mayors,
congresspersons
and of course
the President of
the Untied
States. We have
a greatly
expanded Black
middle and upper
class with an
abundance of
Black
professionals,
high paid
artists,
athletes,
entertainers and
heads of Fortune
500
Corporations. No
one can deny
that the Black
freedom struggle
has produced
significant
gains for the
sons and
daughters of
Africa in
America.
But, far too
many Black
people are mired
in conditions
similar to those
we faced in the
60s. According
to a study
released by the
Community
Service Society
of New York a
couple of years
ago, some 50% of
Black and 40% of
Latino youth are
unemployed in
this city when
you include
those who have
dropped out of
the labor
market. Bronx
County New York,
with a
predominately
Black and Latino
population, is
the poorest
urban county in
America! Schools
that fail to
educate Black
children are the
prevailing
reality in Black
poor and working
class
neighborhoods,
creating a
pipeline to an
exploding
prison-jail
industrial
complex where
the dominant
complexion of
the prisoners is
black and brown.
That these
debilitating
conditions
persist for
large numbers of
Blacks in the
21st century
clearly
indicates that
the "colorline,"
institutional/structural
racism remains a
roadblock to
"freedom"
particularly for
Black working
class and poor
people.
Here again, that
faded document
from the Gary
Black Political
Convention
is still
relevant and
instructive:
"The crises we
face as Black
people are the
crises of the
entire society.
They go deep to
the very bones
and marrow, to
the essential
nature of
America's
economic,
political and
cultural
systems. They
are the natural
end product of a
society built on
the twin
foundation of
white racism and
white
capitalism." As
a veteran social
and political
activist, with
this analysis
informing my
assessment of
the condition of
Black working
class and poor
people, it does
not occur to me
that we are
somehow in a
"post-racist"
society. The
fact that
America has
progressed to
the point that a
Black family can
occupy the White
House has not
eradicated the
myriad maladies
of race and
class that
continue to
constrain the
aspirations of
millions of
Black people in
this nation.
Therefore, the
idea of a Black
Agenda is not
only relevant,
it is imperative
if Africans in
America, as a
group, are to
enter the
"promised land"
that Martin
Luther King
envisioned from
his view from
the mountaintop
in Memphis.
In the first
instance a Black
Agenda is
imperative
because
promoting and
defending one's
interest is
fundamental to
achieving one's
aspirations
within a
pluralistic,
competitive
process in this
Capitalist
political-economy.
The Hispanic
leadership that
recently met
with President
Obama was not
there to show
they have
"access," to
have tea and
crumpets or to
have a photo op;
they were there
to discuss how
their 67% vote
for the
President must
translate into
tangible gains
for Latinos. The
Obama
administration's
refusal to
participate in
the forthcoming
U.N. Conference
on Racism,
because of fears
that Israel may
be attacked for
its human rights
violations
during the
invasion of
Gaza, is a
direct
reflection of
the power of the
Israeli lobby in
the U.S.
It is foolhardy
for any African
American to
think that by
simply electing
a Black
president the
intractable
problems facing
Black poor and
working people
will
miraculously
disappear. They
will only be
resolved under
this president
or any president
if we identify
those issues
that are of
critical
interest to our
people and
demand that they
be solved.
That's why Marc
Morial's action
in demanding
that President
Obama do
something about
the gross
disparities
between Blacks
and Whites in
education,
health, income
and wealth was
courageous and
exemplary. I'm
certain Mr.
Morial admires
our President,
as I do, but in
the world of
politics, that's
beside the
point. We need
symbols and
substance not
symbols without
substance;
otherwise those
"crime-haunted
dying grounds"
are where the
dreams of many
Black people
will continue to
be buried!
Dr. Ron Daniels
is President of
the Institute of
the Black World
21st Century and
Distinguished
Lecturer at York
College City
University of
New York. He is
the host of An
Hour with
Professor Ron
Daniels,
Monday-Friday
mornings on WWRL
Radio 1600 AM in
New York and
Night Talk,
Wednesday
evenings on WBAI
99.5 FM,
Pacifica New
York. His
articles and
essays also
appear on the
IBW website
www.ibw21.org
and
www.northstarnews.com
. He can be
reached via
email at
info@ibw21.org.
Will
Progressives
Offer a Vision
For a More
Perfect Union?
(Ron Daniels)
Source:
BlackAgendaReport
* * * * *
State of Black
America 2009:
Message to the
President
I hope that The
State of Black
America 2009:
Message to the
President will
find its way to
the desks of
decision makers
from the White
House to both
Houses of
Congress to
every state
house and to
local
governments
throughout the
nation. I also
hope that it
will lead to a
national
dialogue that
spawns an agenda
with support
from the private
sector and its
civic
counterpart.
With this hope
we can hasten
the realization
of my father s
dream so that
the narratives
of all Americans
can be one.
--From the
Foreword by
Martin Luther
King, III
We welcome the
new vision the
Obama
administration
brings to
Washington and
to America. But
this vision can
only become a
reality if we
make it so. The
State of Black
America 2009:
Message to the
President, is an
essential part
of the National
Urban League s
effort to bring
about this
vision by
working with the
new
Administration
to tackle the
nation s
deepening
domestic
challenges. I
hope that it
encourages and
inspires each of
you to join us
in working to
help President
Obama fulfill
the promise he
made to us last
summer to build
a nation worthy
of our children
s future.— Marc
H. Morial,
President and
CEO, National
Urban League
At the dawn of
Barack Obama s
historic
presidency, The
State of Black
America 2009
examines the
critical
challenges such
as unemployment,
home
foreclosures,
education and
health care
reform his new
administration
must address. In
this volume, the
National Urban
League presents
the voices of
leading
scholars,
analysts and
practitioners,
as well as
ordinary
citizens asking
their government
to respond to
their concerns
and offers its
specific
recommendations
for effectively
tackling these
issues. The
State of Black
America 2009:
Message to the
President is an
invaluable
guide, not only
for the new
President, but
for anyone
seeking
solutions that
will empower
every American
to Thrive, Earn,
Own and Prosper.—National
Urban League
(March 25,
2009), 290 pages
* * * *
*
|
Go,
Tell Michelle
African American Women Write to the New First Lady
Edited
Barbara A. Seals Nevergold and Peggy Brooks-Bertram |
 |
* * *
* *
* *
* * *
posted 11 April
2009 |
