Election of our nations first black president is delivering an unexpected message to our black population. Blacks are discovering that what a man or woman does is what matters not the color of his or her skin.
It seems ridiculous to point out that this was supposedly the point of the civil rights movement. Purge racism from America. But blacks themselves have been the ones having the hardest time letting it go.
It is not hard to understand why black Americans were happy that a black man was elected president of the United States. It was kind of a final and most grand announcement that racism has finally been purged from America.
But for the highly politicized parts of black America this was certainly not the only message. Because for the highly politicized parts of black America the point has always been to keep race in American politics.
For black political culture that dominated after the Civil Rights Movement the point was not just equal treatment under the law but special treatment under the law.
Plus the assumption that more black political power -- defined by more blacks holding office -- would mean that blacks would be better off.
In other words post-Civil Rights Movement black political culture embraced an agenda exactly the opposite of what the civil rights movement was about.
Its agenda was to get laws and policies that were not neutral but racially slanted and to put individuals in power based on their race and not on their character and capability.
So according to the script of this political culture election of a black man as president meant more than an end to racism. The conclusion had to be that if the man holding the highest political office in the nation was black it must follow that blacks would be better off.
Now blacks have a dilemma. We have a black president and blacks are worse off. Not just a little but a lot worse off. In the words of longtime Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Maxine Waters D-Calif. Our people are hurtin..
Blacks now grapple with two possible conclusions.
One our black president is a traitor to his race. Our struggles put him in power and now hes not taking care of his folks. Hes become in the words of left-wing professor and activist Cornel West a mascot of Wall Street.
Or two that the mans performance reflects his views and his capability not his race. Hes not delivering for anyone. Blacks are hurting more because they were already in worse shape when Obama got elected. Bad policies hurt the weakest the most.
And it happens that the bad policies that have always failed are the big government liberalism that has defined modern black politics.
With further thought blacks might realize its this same flawed idea -- that growing government and electing black politicians would make blacks better off -- that explains why blacks have remained disproportionately hurtin.
Take the Congressional Black Caucus itself. The average poverty rate in Black Caucus districts is almost 50 percent higher than the national average. Yet these black politicians have 100 percent re-election rates.
Maybe a real bonus that will have come from electing a black president is that blacks will take seriously Dr. Kings dream that we judge men by their character and not their color.
The Civil Rights Movement took blacks to the edge of the Promised Land. But political activism can only remove barriers to freedom. Its up to the individual to embrace freedom and take on the personal responsibilities that go with it.
Maybe blacks will realize that they should blame Obama. Not because he is black but because he is a liberal. And because he has grown government to the point where the oxygen necessary for freedom and prosperity is being squeezed out of our nation.
Examiner Columnist Star Parker is an author and president of CURE the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (urbancure.org). She is syndicated nationally by Scripps Howard News Service.
Election of our nations first black president is delivering an unexpected message to our black population. Blacks are discovering that what a man or woman does is what matters not the color of his or her skin.
It seems ridiculous to point out that this was supposedly the point of the civil rights movement. Purge racism from America. But blacks themselves have been the ones having the hardest time letting it go.
It is not hard to understand why black Americans were happy that a black man was elected president of the United States. It was kind of a final and most grand announcement that racism has finally been purged from America.
But for the highly politicized parts of black America this was certainly not the only message. Because for the highly politicized parts of black America the point has always been to keep race in American politics.
For black political culture that dominated after the Civil Rights Movement the point was not just equal treatment under the law but special treatment under the law.
Plus the assumption that more black political power -- defined by more blacks holding office -- would mean that blacks would be better off.
In other words post-Civil Rights Movement black political culture embraced an agenda exactly the opposite of what the civil rights movement was about.
Its agenda was to get laws and policies that were not neutral but racially slanted and to put individuals in power based on their race and not on their character and capability.
So according to the script of this political culture election of a black man as president meant more than an end to racism. The conclusion had to be that if the man holding the highest political office in the nation was black it must follow that blacks would be better off.
Now blacks have a dilemma. We have a black president and blacks are worse off. Not just a little but a lot worse off. In the words of longtime Congressional Black Caucus member Rep. Maxine Waters D-Calif. Our people are hurtin..
Blacks now grapple with two possible conclusions.
One our black president is a traitor to his race. Our struggles put him in power and now hes not taking care of his folks. Hes become in the words of left-wing professor and activist Cornel West a mascot of Wall Street.
Or two that the mans performance reflects his views and his capability not his race. Hes not delivering for anyone. Blacks are hurting more because they were already in worse shape when Obama got elected. Bad policies hurt the weakest the most.
And it happens that the bad policies that have always failed are the big government liberalism that has defined modern black politics.
With further thought blacks might realize its this same flawed idea -- that growing government and electing black politicians would make blacks better off -- that explains why blacks have remained disproportionately hurtin.
Take the Congressional Black Caucus itself. The average poverty rate in Black Caucus districts is almost 50 percent higher than the national average. Yet these black politicians have 100 percent re-election rates.
Maybe a real bonus that will have come from electing a black president is that blacks will take seriously Dr. Kings dream that we judge men by their character and not their color.
The Civil Rights Movement took blacks to the edge of the Promised Land. But political activism can only remove barriers to freedom. Its up to the individual to embrace freedom and take on the personal responsibilities that go with it.
Maybe blacks will realize that they should blame Obama. Not because he is black but because he is a liberal. And because he has grown government to the point where the oxygen necessary for freedom and prosperity is being squeezed out of our nation.
Examiner Columnist Star Parker is an author and president of CURE the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (urbancure.org). She is syndicated nationally by Scripps Howard News Service.
