A friend emailed me and said, "Too bad I can't appreciate a black man," in response to my last post on my support of Hillary Clinton for president. This is what I replied to him:
I can appreciate a strong black men, for me, that's the rule and not the exception. Also, I was initially an Obama supporter and was on the host committe that first brought Michelle Obama to Atlanta. I gave him money, and helped raise thousands more. I think Michelle and Barack are the bomb. I met him two years ago and was fortunate to have his ear for a little while at an event.
I feel like Andrew Young does, he'll be ready, America will be ready, and he will win hands down in 8 years... Some of the last Jim Crow afficianados will be dead, his daughters will be older, and he will still be a breath of fresh air.
And he will go down in history, not just for being the first black president, but for being an EXTRAORDINARY president, mutually exclusive of his skin color.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
SWB seeks POTUS
I am so proud to be a woman.
I am so proud to be a black.
And for me, the two are mutually exclusive.
So, here we have a black and a woman, running for POTUS. I am continually bombarded with the admonition to "support the brother" and constantly served a salacious plate of "Willie Lynch"-esque propaganda by the press and some pundits of color who make race an issue among blacks by exploiting fallacious race-baiting issues where none actually exists.
To further fan the flames of institutional racism and latent cultural insensitivity that truly dogs our country, our communities, our boardrooms, our government, our social institutions, and our private quarters, some Blacks openly and fervently support Barack Obama simply because he is black; others harangue blacks who don't support Obama because he's black, and even vilify anyone -- black or white, old guard or new guard, Bill Clinton or Bill O'Reilly -- who speaks out against Obama or takes the position of support Hillary as racists or sellouts. Obama himself wouldn't encourage that kind of support. Contrary to what some media and mediocre mindsets think, he is not running to be the first black president -- he is a candidate for president who happens to be black.
I wish that sentiment weren't so callow as WE (all) SEE BLACK PEOPLE.
And so unfortunately, these particular voices in support of Obama do nothing to assuage racial tensions in America today, nor the vestige of extant racism that so desperately needs to be quashed, but will live on and continue to breathe in our American culture as long as we give it voice.
As a child of the progenitors of the modern civil rights movement that freed us from the shackles of separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, bus rides, and educational opportunities, and a recipient of the spoils of their spilled blood, sweat and tears, I am profoundly aware of my place in society as a heir of their fruit. That means, I not only have a responsibility to bear my own sweet fruit, but to plant the seeds of the fruit from which I have consumed.
With that, I cannot be that which I am called not to be, and that is a bearer of bitter fruit; a respector of persons; or an antithetical product of MLK's dream. A dream where "we" are judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.
It's an uphill battle for black folks who support Hillary to promote Hillary because people are so high on the endorphine release they get from seeing and hearing him in his glory, that reason is a boring antedote. It's hard to compete with an emotional orgasm and Obama is unequivocally giving folks a big O. As a young baby boomer, I found the same kind of exhilaration with Jesse Jackson when he ran for president -- the first time. But I was not going to vote for him.
One score later, America has a presidential candidate that is inspiring the entire nation, and he is black. As much as we would like for him to be a great candidate that happens to be black, his apotheosis during this extraordinary and groundbreaking political zeitgeist is absolutely due to the fact that he is black. He is a black man with a charisma, an intellect, and a heart that draws people in, regardless of their race, creed, color, religion sex or national origin.
What he has accomplished is extraordinary. Surely, he was called by God for such a time as this. To wake people up. To shake people up. To show our nation that a black man can be just as talented and as worthy as any other man to serve as president of the United States. And that may just be the point right now.
Strip Obama of his blackness, and he is an ordinary successful black man who came up by his own bootstraps from a single-mother household. That's todays black man. That's a lot of black men I know. That's a lot of people I know. Hey, that's me! But this one is running for POTUS.
Cool!
So cool, in fact, that it has given rise to quasi black facism that overrules parity and logic.
So, voting black for black sake is just not going to cut it for me and other like-minded, progressive, concerned individuals of the "new" guard who really want to elect a president that will get this country back on track and pull us out of the quagmire we are suffocating in right now.
We can wish and hope our asses out of this mess, and believe Obama is skilled, seasoned, and strong enough for the mammoth job our new president will face; or we can put our faith to work and vote for the candidate that we know can do the job from day one; vote for the candidate who has already been tried and tested and come back stronger with more of the grace, gumption, humility and understanding of the human condition in America that only a survivor and a champion can bring; vote for the candidate who has a lot of experience and a long history of working on behalf of the rights of women, blacks, children, poor people, and the disenfranchised, not just in America, but across the globe; and vote for the candidate who is the embodiment of change by virture of the fact that change is here. Change is inevitable. Change is always on the horizon. You make change by being the change you want to see.
So, the question is not who will bring change, but who can best lead us through change.
The answer for me is Hillary Clinton.
I am a black woman who has seen the face discrimination, lost to the demon of divorce, experienced deprivation and destitution, as well as priviledge and success, toiled as a single parent, worked to make my community safer, served those less fortunate than myself, did it because it blessed me to be able to do it, organized my community to take a stand against violence, took a job in the public sector because of my desire to serve, and survied more drama and tragedy than a bad soap opera. And, in the words of Maya Angelou, another Hillary supporter, "still I rise."
So, who brings to the table, more than what I got for myself? Who has the same stripes on their back, bars on the shoulder, pins on the lapel, patch on the ass, and purple heart that I got?
As POTUS after this administration, you have to be more than a conqueror to get my vote.
With new levels come new devils, so which candidate is best suited, best armored, been there, done that, got the T-shirt (the stripes, the bars, the pins the patch and the purple heart), and is ready for heavy lifting and the battles ahead of this country?
Hillary Clinton. And still she rises. She has already proven that she is more than a conqueror.
She got my vote already during early voting.
I am thrilled she has offered herself up for service to our country at this time, and I believe she is the one for such a time as this.
I encourage you to vote for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, February 5th.
This message is brought to you by a strong woman who happens to be black (SWB) -- Kelley Jackson.
I am so proud to be a black.
And for me, the two are mutually exclusive.
So, here we have a black and a woman, running for POTUS. I am continually bombarded with the admonition to "support the brother" and constantly served a salacious plate of "Willie Lynch"-esque propaganda by the press and some pundits of color who make race an issue among blacks by exploiting fallacious race-baiting issues where none actually exists.
To further fan the flames of institutional racism and latent cultural insensitivity that truly dogs our country, our communities, our boardrooms, our government, our social institutions, and our private quarters, some Blacks openly and fervently support Barack Obama simply because he is black; others harangue blacks who don't support Obama because he's black, and even vilify anyone -- black or white, old guard or new guard, Bill Clinton or Bill O'Reilly -- who speaks out against Obama or takes the position of support Hillary as racists or sellouts. Obama himself wouldn't encourage that kind of support. Contrary to what some media and mediocre mindsets think, he is not running to be the first black president -- he is a candidate for president who happens to be black.
I wish that sentiment weren't so callow as WE (all) SEE BLACK PEOPLE.
And so unfortunately, these particular voices in support of Obama do nothing to assuage racial tensions in America today, nor the vestige of extant racism that so desperately needs to be quashed, but will live on and continue to breathe in our American culture as long as we give it voice.
As a child of the progenitors of the modern civil rights movement that freed us from the shackles of separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, bus rides, and educational opportunities, and a recipient of the spoils of their spilled blood, sweat and tears, I am profoundly aware of my place in society as a heir of their fruit. That means, I not only have a responsibility to bear my own sweet fruit, but to plant the seeds of the fruit from which I have consumed.
With that, I cannot be that which I am called not to be, and that is a bearer of bitter fruit; a respector of persons; or an antithetical product of MLK's dream. A dream where "we" are judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.
It's an uphill battle for black folks who support Hillary to promote Hillary because people are so high on the endorphine release they get from seeing and hearing him in his glory, that reason is a boring antedote. It's hard to compete with an emotional orgasm and Obama is unequivocally giving folks a big O. As a young baby boomer, I found the same kind of exhilaration with Jesse Jackson when he ran for president -- the first time. But I was not going to vote for him.
One score later, America has a presidential candidate that is inspiring the entire nation, and he is black. As much as we would like for him to be a great candidate that happens to be black, his apotheosis during this extraordinary and groundbreaking political zeitgeist is absolutely due to the fact that he is black. He is a black man with a charisma, an intellect, and a heart that draws people in, regardless of their race, creed, color, religion sex or national origin.
What he has accomplished is extraordinary. Surely, he was called by God for such a time as this. To wake people up. To shake people up. To show our nation that a black man can be just as talented and as worthy as any other man to serve as president of the United States. And that may just be the point right now.
Strip Obama of his blackness, and he is an ordinary successful black man who came up by his own bootstraps from a single-mother household. That's todays black man. That's a lot of black men I know. That's a lot of people I know. Hey, that's me! But this one is running for POTUS.
Cool!
So cool, in fact, that it has given rise to quasi black facism that overrules parity and logic.
So, voting black for black sake is just not going to cut it for me and other like-minded, progressive, concerned individuals of the "new" guard who really want to elect a president that will get this country back on track and pull us out of the quagmire we are suffocating in right now.
We can wish and hope our asses out of this mess, and believe Obama is skilled, seasoned, and strong enough for the mammoth job our new president will face; or we can put our faith to work and vote for the candidate that we know can do the job from day one; vote for the candidate who has already been tried and tested and come back stronger with more of the grace, gumption, humility and understanding of the human condition in America that only a survivor and a champion can bring; vote for the candidate who has a lot of experience and a long history of working on behalf of the rights of women, blacks, children, poor people, and the disenfranchised, not just in America, but across the globe; and vote for the candidate who is the embodiment of change by virture of the fact that change is here. Change is inevitable. Change is always on the horizon. You make change by being the change you want to see.
So, the question is not who will bring change, but who can best lead us through change.
The answer for me is Hillary Clinton.
I am a black woman who has seen the face discrimination, lost to the demon of divorce, experienced deprivation and destitution, as well as priviledge and success, toiled as a single parent, worked to make my community safer, served those less fortunate than myself, did it because it blessed me to be able to do it, organized my community to take a stand against violence, took a job in the public sector because of my desire to serve, and survied more drama and tragedy than a bad soap opera. And, in the words of Maya Angelou, another Hillary supporter, "still I rise."
So, who brings to the table, more than what I got for myself? Who has the same stripes on their back, bars on the shoulder, pins on the lapel, patch on the ass, and purple heart that I got?
As POTUS after this administration, you have to be more than a conqueror to get my vote.
With new levels come new devils, so which candidate is best suited, best armored, been there, done that, got the T-shirt (the stripes, the bars, the pins the patch and the purple heart), and is ready for heavy lifting and the battles ahead of this country?
Hillary Clinton. And still she rises. She has already proven that she is more than a conqueror.
She got my vote already during early voting.
I am thrilled she has offered herself up for service to our country at this time, and I believe she is the one for such a time as this.
I encourage you to vote for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, February 5th.
This message is brought to you by a strong woman who happens to be black (SWB) -- Kelley Jackson.
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