I have my own views on Obama and election day (bittersweat as I’m a Californian) but for now I want to highlight some things about Obama and the election from other blogs.
Please watch this video of Dr. Cornel West that I found on Eliacin’s blog.
“Well, when it comes to Black faces in high places, America has undergone extrodanary change. When it comes to the suffering of Black poor people, the suffering of Black working people the verdict is not yet in, in terms from shifting from symbol to substance.”
-Cornel West
[update: for some dumb reason the video isn’t working. All you need to do is click here and search under “Cornel West on Obama Win” and you will find the video]
Brownfemipower blogs on the suffering of people of color as well:
I woke up far too early this morning, and thus was incredibly beyond cranky at all the white folks speculating if racism is…could it be…DEAD???? Because, you know, if one black man could make it as a president, Katrina didn’t *really* happen just years ago. And racism only exists in the form of some ancient by-gone problem of the black community not being able to vote, right?
…
Does the U.S. realize what it’s done? Does it recognize the blood it has on it’s hands? Does it acknowledge that electing a black president doesn’t make it *safe* to love? Doesn’t remove the threat against hope it has held over the black community for centuries?
…
And so while we can all congratulate each other and honor the accomplishment and smile and hug and scream in the streets–we can not look away from that very real fucking truth. We are all a part of inflicting the pain that makes this accomplishment so huge, so important, so tender and delicate–that this is the first time since the creation of the United States that we as a nation have found as much value in the body and mind of a black man as the black community does.
And there is also the suffering the U.S. has cuased internationally (and many folks in the Third World see Obama as the inheriter of U.S. imperialism).
Brian Walsh blogs:
Like many of my neighbours to the south, like many of my neighbours in Toronto, especially in the black community, and like many of my neighbours around the world, I had tears in my eyes last night. My heart is also filled with gratitude that the American people rejected the legacy of George W. Bush in such overwhelming numbers. And I am enthused by the hope that Obama brings to America and, indeed, to the world.
So here’s the question. How will an Obama presidency break with the imperial pretense of not just the Bush/Reagan dynasty, but with the imperial pretense of America herself. Can you be a President of the United States of America and not be imperial? Or to put the question in terms of this website, can Obama remix the American empire?
…
Obama stands in the tradition of King by appealing to the founding vision of America and calling America to fulfill that vision. And he is right to believe that there can only be a vision for the future if that vision is rooted in memories that can engender and sustain such a vision. And he was politically wise to argue that we must reject the Bush legacy because it departs from the best of American traditions, the best of American promise. But what is that promise? What, beyond those three foundational words, is the heart of that tradition? If vision is rooted in memory, are some memories better than others? Might there be some memories that need to be re-evaluated if we are to proceed with hope and an alternative vision?
Finally, on imperialism, the view from Pakistan.
Pingback: Obama: Moving from Symbol to Substance « The Mustard Seed
Whether it’s right or wrong, any real, substantial improvement in the lot of black America is probably going to have to come from within. The USA is burned out on race issues, and Obama’s presidency will make a lot of people skeptical claims of racial discrimination. It’s easier than ever for whites to point at the self-destructive culture in poor black communities and say “it’s your own damned fault”.
With the economy tanking and the racially sensitive public looking over his shoulder, Obama probably won’t be able to come to their rescue either. Places like Detroit, South Central, and New Orleans are probably on their own.
The history has only started, lets hope the red states dont desire to return to pre 1960s
Racism is not binary. America is not either completely racist or completely non-racist. Some people are horribly racist, others are not racist, and some are in between.
So, no – Sen. Obama’s election to the Presidency does not mean the end of racism in America. But it is a mighty blow against it. And it demonstrates beyond a doubt that there’s less racism than there once was.
Places like Detroit, South Central and New Orleans can still look to their State governments for assistance. But they also need to look within themselves and see what is actually sustainable; and if their current structure is not sustainable, why?
To talk about New Orleans a bit, a large part of their problem is geography and geology. The man-made changes there have made the place simply unsustainable in it’s pre-Katrina form. Huge parts of it are below sea level, by feet in some areas, and they continue to sink. The amount of resources that it would take to reverse the effect of that have a prohibitive cost, would not solve the underlying problem. That area will continue to sink no matter what you do unless you clear the people out entirely and knock down the levees and let the Mississippi flood the area each year and build the silt back up. My understanding is that the city’s current administration is actually letting people rebuild in the flooded areas. That’s insane. As in, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. Another Cat 3 storm hitting N.O. dead on will just flood those areas again and kill more people and cause more property damage. At some point you have to face reality.
if i might add to the linklist, Haroon Moghul at Avari writes: