Photo by Getty Images, taken from New York Magazine
Around 75 people gathered at the Ambrose Church on West 130th Street in Harlem for a discussion organized by the Harlem Tenants Council on race, the African American community and Barack Obama. Activists from a variety of causes including police brutality, housing and political prisoners talked about what the candidacy of Obama meant to the black community.
The discussion was especially relevant since it came on the heels of sparring between Senators Obama and Clinton on race and gender, which was sparked by the alleged implication that the gains during the civil rights movement were only truly made possible by President Johnson, a white man. The discussion got uglier as the week went on, with the founder of BET, Bob Johnson, bringing up Barack Obama’s drug use in the past.
(Note: due to the author arriving late, he did not get to cover every single speaker at the event).
Anthony Monteiro, a professor of African American studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, remarked that this election is “not about revolutionary change or people’s seizure of power”. Monteiro criticized the media for implying that the only reason Obama is “legitimate is because he can get white voters.” Monteiro also had pointed criticism of Obama’s message of hope and unity, remarking, “change is not just changing the color or gender of the person in the White House…At this point Obama has prioritized his capacity to appeal to upper class whites.”
Monteiro’s most interesting point came when he dismissed the idea of the Obama candidacy being unique, comparing Obama to Booker T. Washington. The historical analogy rests on the fact that both Washington and Obama have succeeded largely due to their appeal to whites. “The core of Washington’s program was to take race off the table,” said Monteiro. Many people have criticized Obama for not being “black enough”, including the now famous remark by the Rev. Jesse Jackson that Obama was “acting like he’s white” when it came to taking on the Jena 6 case.
Viola Plummer, now infamous because of the controversy surrounding her and City Council speaker Christine Quinn, spoke as well. She had some criticism of Obama and his black supporters, saying that they are following the likes of politicians like Charlie Rangel. Plummer said that this election “is an opportunity for us to bum rush the Obama opening…in 2008, I am absolutely convinced that this is an opening.”
Deborah Smalls, a long time advocate of drug reform laws and member of Break the Chains, disagreed with media coverage that implied that Obama is the only legitimate black candidate for President in the history of the U.S., citing Shirley Chisholm as an example. She is an Obama supporter, she says, because his campaign is bringing back the notion that people can change their government, although she recognizes that Obama is not an opponent of capitalism and imperialism.
The issue of political prisoners and Obama was also brought up when Ashanti Austin of the Jericho Movement proposed asking Obama and the other candidates what their position was on the issue of political prisoners. “What we need to figure out is how this empire needs to come down…Obama promises a fake dream.”
A common sentiment expressed throughout the night was the belief that if you change the color of the person sitting in the Oval Office, that doesn’t necessarily mean that real, concrete action will be taken to address the systemic racial issues in America. A member of the Malcolm X Grassroots movement, who focuses on issues concerning youth and hip hop, said that her position is that the “U.S. is imperialistic and capitalistic, and changing the color of the man in the White House will not change that system.” She compared that belief with similar delusions that if there are police officers of color, that will change the patterns of police brutality, saying that it’s the “culture of policing, not the man in uniform.”
The Q and A session at the end was more of a comment session on the event than actual questions being posed to the speakers. One thing that people did echo throughout the event and the Q and A was the possibility of drafting a “people’s platform” to present to Senator Obama and the rest of the candidates. Nellie Hester of the Harlem Tenants Council stated at the end that she was interested in organizing another event on similar issues, due to audience approval and request.
The discussion was especially relevant since it came on the heels of sparring between Senators Obama and Clinton on race and gender, which was sparked by the alleged implication that the gains during the civil rights movement were only truly made possible by President Johnson, a white man. The discussion got uglier as the week went on, with the founder of BET, Bob Johnson, bringing up Barack Obama’s drug use in the past.
(Note: due to the author arriving late, he did not get to cover every single speaker at the event).
Anthony Monteiro, a professor of African American studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, remarked that this election is “not about revolutionary change or people’s seizure of power”. Monteiro criticized the media for implying that the only reason Obama is “legitimate is because he can get white voters.” Monteiro also had pointed criticism of Obama’s message of hope and unity, remarking, “change is not just changing the color or gender of the person in the White House…At this point Obama has prioritized his capacity to appeal to upper class whites.”
Monteiro’s most interesting point came when he dismissed the idea of the Obama candidacy being unique, comparing Obama to Booker T. Washington. The historical analogy rests on the fact that both Washington and Obama have succeeded largely due to their appeal to whites. “The core of Washington’s program was to take race off the table,” said Monteiro. Many people have criticized Obama for not being “black enough”, including the now famous remark by the Rev. Jesse Jackson that Obama was “acting like he’s white” when it came to taking on the Jena 6 case.
Viola Plummer, now infamous because of the controversy surrounding her and City Council speaker Christine Quinn, spoke as well. She had some criticism of Obama and his black supporters, saying that they are following the likes of politicians like Charlie Rangel. Plummer said that this election “is an opportunity for us to bum rush the Obama opening…in 2008, I am absolutely convinced that this is an opening.”
Deborah Smalls, a long time advocate of drug reform laws and member of Break the Chains, disagreed with media coverage that implied that Obama is the only legitimate black candidate for President in the history of the U.S., citing Shirley Chisholm as an example. She is an Obama supporter, she says, because his campaign is bringing back the notion that people can change their government, although she recognizes that Obama is not an opponent of capitalism and imperialism.
The issue of political prisoners and Obama was also brought up when Ashanti Austin of the Jericho Movement proposed asking Obama and the other candidates what their position was on the issue of political prisoners. “What we need to figure out is how this empire needs to come down…Obama promises a fake dream.”
A common sentiment expressed throughout the night was the belief that if you change the color of the person sitting in the Oval Office, that doesn’t necessarily mean that real, concrete action will be taken to address the systemic racial issues in America. A member of the Malcolm X Grassroots movement, who focuses on issues concerning youth and hip hop, said that her position is that the “U.S. is imperialistic and capitalistic, and changing the color of the man in the White House will not change that system.” She compared that belief with similar delusions that if there are police officers of color, that will change the patterns of police brutality, saying that it’s the “culture of policing, not the man in uniform.”
The Q and A session at the end was more of a comment session on the event than actual questions being posed to the speakers. One thing that people did echo throughout the event and the Q and A was the possibility of drafting a “people’s platform” to present to Senator Obama and the rest of the candidates. Nellie Hester of the Harlem Tenants Council stated at the end that she was interested in organizing another event on similar issues, due to audience approval and request.
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