On the night of his election. Mr. Obama disrespected Dr. Marlin Luther King Jr. by referring to him simply as "the Atlanta preacher." Speaking at the funeral of the Queen of the Civil Rights Movement, Rosa Parks, President-Elect Obama showed no feeling. How could he not have been moved?
When he first became a senator, addressing the Washington Press Club, Mr. Obama declared that his hero was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Surely a professor of law at the University of Chicago would have been aware that Roosevelt cared nothing for black people, turned his back on the lynchings pervasive in the South, and made no provisions for black land in his land policy.
Mr. Obama delivered a harsh attack against Black men, without addressing any of the social factors which leave our brothers jobless, mis-educated, incarcerated and in poor health. There is little evidence of cultural compatibility.
These are among the key reasons why I contend the election of President-elect Barack Obama is not good for Black people.
Dr. Donald Smith can be contacted at Dohugh@aol.com
DR. LEONARD JEFFRIES
"...The system that we knew as capitalism no longer exists..."
(Dr. Jeffries spoke in favor of the proposition that the Obama phenomenon is indeed good for black people. In the interest of meeting our publication deadline our audio and transcript cover only a portion of his 7 minute remaks. Dr. Jeffries' presentation can be heard in its entirety at FreeMix Radio, www.voxunion.com,)
“We have to understand what time it is, brother. Life has changed, transformation and rebirth and resurrection. No matter what Obama does in office, life is going to change, it's going to transform, and there's going to be rebirth. We need to have, Mumia Abu Jamal celebrates the fact, even if we can't get him off death row, and even if he goes to his reward he's got to celebrate the fact that he was here.
“He was here at the moment that the capitalist system collapsed. He was here when Wall Street (unintelligible). He was here and he can go to his reward knowing that he stood for that challenge. We have to understand what has happened, borthers and sisters. The system that we know as capitalism no longer exists. We have a chance to put in place an African system/ Wall Street as we know it no longer exists. We have the chance to put in place an African street.”
BAR is grateful to the funkinest journalist Dr. Jared Ball for recording the Harlem event. The full three hours can be heard at FreeMix Radio, www.voxunion.com. We also thank Dr. James McIntosh at CEMOTAP and all the panelists and participants who made it happen, and Davey D, whose Breakdown FM show features extensive audio excerpts from all the panelists, part one and part two.
Glen Ford and Dr. Jeffries will appear at Baltimore's Great Debate this Saturday, December 20. The event will be streamed live over the internet at a cost of $10. Details and signup are available at Living In Black Radio, www.livinginblack.com.
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