Since the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson,
I have heard voices from within the African American community commenting on
what President Obama needs to be doing to “represent”. I clearly remember that conservatives are
waiting for an opportunity to impeach him, so from a political standpoint, not
a smart move. I also remember during his
first win in 2008, that he vowed to be President to all of America, even those
who did not vote for him. Even though we
know that conservatives have no such moral inclination to be fair; it would be
detrimental if President Obama stooped to their level.
However, I want to address
this matter from a more personal perspective; I am a foreign born Black as are
my parents. Initially we lived in a predominately White neighborhood where the
best friend of one of my two brothers was Italian; my other brother’s best
friend was Pakistani. My friends were
all White from church and Girl Scouts and my older sister’s best friend was
also White. Aside from his friends at
the West Indian Club, Daddy’s best friend was a giant White man and Mommy’s
extended family were a very much older African American couple as well as the
two White families for whom she worked. I
share all of this to say that I never knew or understood the intense dislike
and distrust of White people, especially law enforcement, by African American students
I met from being bussed. I did not know because my family and I never had any experiences
that would instill such distrust. I understand
that now only because I have four African American children, including two sons.
I have lived in this community for 15 years where I have witnessed the
mistreatment by the police. My sons, who do not hang out on the streets neither
do they have criminal records, have both been stopped and questioned on their
way to work and coming home. The
identifiable factors – the color of their skin and the community they live
in. President Obama did not grow up in
urban mainland America and his mother and grandparents had no knowledge of what
awaited their son and grandson so that they could “alert” him on how or who to
be around law enforcement. Even if his biological dad had been in his life, the
man was from another country and would have lacked the same form of knowledge
for his son. As a community activist, he
saw the social and economic results of a system built on racial animus but he
did not live it in the same context as those he helped. Another way to look at this is the fact that
there are many children of foreign born parents who may not know the language
of their heritage. I have a friend who is Latina and speaks
Spanish yet neither one of her children can speak or even read the
language.
The fact that AG Holder
went to Ferguson tells me that President Obama was very aware and concerned
especially after identifying with Trayvon Martin. The difference was that the
stark reality of Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a White police officer
ripped away any fragments of mental and emotional restraint that many have used
to ignore the racial oppression going on in certain communities. The death of Eric Garner and the results of
that grand jury was the salt into the wounds of a historically long festering
and putrid cankerous sore. What could
President Obama have said that would have made this disease less
malignant? Is anyone forgetting the many
times “certain” citizens set up shop outside the White House derailing and
demeaning the President? Is anyone forgetting the fact that death threats to
this President is far higher than any other? Or the fact that many open-carry
laws have increased as did the sales of guns.
So, what could President Obama have said that would have eased the minds
of those African Americans denouncing his lack of vocal participation? Mayor Bill de Blasio is a White man with an
African American son who spoke the truth of the real for his son. Look at the
reaction of those with small minds who are charged with protecting citizens. If this is how one group reacted to a truth, what
do you think would happen if the first African American President spoke what he
really felt? I also find it incredulous that
those calling out President Obama have not called out the many ministers who
did not have a problem voicing their opinions on same sex marriages or a woman’s
right to make decisions for her body and life.
Those ministers who are supposed to be representing the compassion of
Jesus Christ and fighting for what is right and just. What happened to the voices of all those who
are pro-life? So, lay off President
Obama on this especially since no one seems to be calling out African American
churches that used to be the backbone in urban communities on social justice.
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