The final unraveling of Obamaism -- at root, a kind of delirium centered on a corporate-crafted Great Black Hope -- will be nowhere near complete until the hallucinogen is substantially purged from the psyche of its core constituency, Black America. Tentative moves by outfits like the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party to explore the possibility of a primary challenge to Obama are encouraging, to be sure. But Obama's awesome power to neutralize and disfigure progressive politics in the United States owes its potency to the First Black President's psychological hold on African Americans, historically the nation's most Left constituency. As long as Obama's very presence in the White House continues to mangle African American political perceptions, effectively neutering Blacks as a social force, the chances of a progressive revival are nil.::::::::
Therefore, probably the most important political developments of the late summer are taking place in Black America -- some of them on tour. Among activists, at least, Obama's "Black Wall" finally cracked with the Euro-American assault on Libya. It was the straw that broke the bonds between Obama and Black nationalists and leftists, who were forced to choose between icons: the heady symbolism of a Black President versus Mother Africa. Spurred by former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's ongoing "Eyewitness Libya" tour, a distinctive, Black-led anti-war movement is emerging, one that is radical, anti-imperial and, specifically, anti-Obama.
Barak and Company (08.2011), by Black Agenda Report
To read Glen Ford's article in full, and see the names of the faces in the above montage, click here.
I have a law degree (Stanford, 66') but have never practiced. Instead, from 1967 through 1977, I tried to contribute to the revolution in America. As unsuccessful as everyone else over that decade, in 1978 I went to work for the U.S. Forest (
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