I bought the narrative of the bi-racial kid who came here and met the Chi-town sister of his dreams, who was by most accounts, already“ first lady material”. I bought the background that included Obama being a community advocate and a liberal teacher of law at the very conservative University of Chicago. Mostly, I got caught up in the historical relevance, the first Black POTUS, a POTUS for us, the long awaited savior of Africans in America. I attended the inauguration on that cold, blustery day with some friends, moistened eyes, and that warm feeling of euphoria as we stood out among the throngs of thousands to greet the new Oval Office resident.
Cautious Optimism.
Again, as an Afro-centered teacher, I KNEW that this was all a show, but it was a great show, and as a human being, like most, I would rather be optimistic and HOPED that all I had come to know would be proven wrong under President Obama. I gambled against what I’ d taught hundreds of Black students, that our freedom will not come through American politics or elected leaders. I’ ll never second guess mySELF again in that arena. 2008 was the last year I voted for a POTUS, and it will probably be the last.
symbolism( noun) – the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
In 1964, we got the Civil Rights Act, a federal law that outlawed discrimination, a law that ushered in integration. In addition to losing our autonomy and self-sufficiency, we lost many an esteemed and honorable ancestor, fighting for the right to be treated as equal human beings here. Marches, dogs, high-powered hoses, beatings, and assassinations. The Civil Rights Movement was largely led and funded by others, European so-called liberals and Jews. The leading organization within the Civil Rights Movement was the NAACP, an organization founded, funded, and led by others, European so-called liberals and Jews. We invested a lot of blood, sweat, energy, and emotion into the Civil Rights Movement and the passing of that law in 1964. It has proven to be nothing short of symbolic. It represented the idea of freedom. Freedom to live, shop, work, and socialize among Whites. However, with it being symbolic in nature, that law never afforded us freedom to be treated as equal human beings. We bought the illusions though. An exceptional few as representative of the struggling whole, well-compensated athletes and entertainers, Black judges and politicians, Black CEOs, and Blacks being allowed to consume crazily, but not owning a single neighborhood in the U. S. A., not a single neighborhood in 50 states. Ownership is evidenced by owning and controlling the majority of the banks and major stores in our own communities, ownership of the police and politicians, ownership of schools and how our children are educated, and the right not to be re-gentrified every 3 or 4 decades. But the illusion feels good.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The year after the Civil Rights Act went into effect, we got the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which basically gave teeth to the 15th Amendment( Black Suffrage). It cleared the way for Africans in America to vote unimpeded. There have always and will always be built-in voting irregularities when it comes to suffrage for poor people and people of color. Most call it rigging, I simply call it part of the game, a default. We hear about them from time to time, but nothing is ever done to alleviate them. Anyway, Black people have been voting for alderman, for mayors, for governors, for senators, for representatives, for judges, and for Presidents since even before 1965, yet the status quo in this country has not shifted one iota. Somehow the rich have managed to become richer, and if you can believe it, the poor are actually becoming poorer, as we’ ve witnessed, watching that“ Black middle-class” evaporate over the last few years.
We voted for the greatest“ hope merchant” to date.“ Yes We Can!” But we didn’ t. The last 8 years have proven to be a very psychologically impactful time for Africans in America. Our emotions ruled for the last 8 years as pretty pictures replaced potent policies as priorities. We pardoned the killing of Gaddafi and the drone bombings all over the Middle East and Africa. We pardoned the privatization of education, prisons, and many other public sectors, as unions were dissolved while political cronies got paid. We pardoned the bank and big business bailouts while millions watched their homes and jobs disappear. We pardoned trade agreements that saw jobs deported and GMOs and other toxic, dangerous foods and goods imported. We pardoned the padding of the Patriot Act which saw privacy and whistle-blowing become relics. We pardoned the obvious crooked alliances which saw a member of the Zionist lobby become the diminutive, heavy-handed mayor of the country’ s Midwest hub, Chicago, campaigned for and supported by the POTUS. Most ominously, we pardoned the President as he stood impotently by while Black people continued to be literally lynched by law enforcement and those under the guise of. Crooked killer cops walked away with impunity, while the justifiably livid youth were labeled by the President as“ criminals and thugs”. Not the bullying, state-