POST NO ILLS E-Roundtable: Sucka-Free Democracy--Natalie Y. Moore (1)


OPENING RESPONSE One of the things that I worry about with a Barack Obama win is how black America will feel six months later—after the inauguration, after the confetti, and after the media assesses those first 100 days. ___There are rumblings now about Obama’s commitment to black America. Contrast that with the candidate’s image emblazoned on T-shirts with Malcolm, Martin, and Mandela. Hope is as high as the expectations. As historic and uplifting as an Obama win would be, his ascension to the White House does not put him on the same plane as the aforementioned black trinity. Black America must understand that Obama would be president of all of America, not just black people. ___As I write this, I can’t help but think of the embattled Kwame Kilpatrick. The soon-to-be former mayor of Detroit copped to felonious infidelity and is headed to jail. He was such promise to the post-Civil Rights generation as the “hip-hop mayor.” Kilpatrick squandered his talent, but there are other young pols of the hip-hop generation who are loyal to the race but also understand racially charged language doesn’t always facilitate good governance. At times, Kilpatrick understood that for his post-industrial city. ___If Obama wins, I hope the hip-hop generation doesn’t skewer him for not solely thinking about a black agenda. I’m not saying my fellow South Sider isn’t above critique. I’d like to believe that musical candor can still exist, just not putting all of the burden on one man. ___I believe many hip-hop artists will see Obama as one person. He is not the Messiah with a magic wand who can whisk away racism and reverse policies with one wave. If he fulfills his promise of being an agent of change, that doesn’t mean institutional racism will disappear just because he’s the leader of the free world. ___Thus, hip-hop doesn’t have to abandon political discourse if Obama wins. If he’s president, discrimination in all quarters won’t disappear. Educational inequality will be there. The criminal justice system will cripple on. Obama won’t be powerless, but he can’t undo hundreds of years of bad policies. But hip-hop doesn’t have pull back its punches. Individual critiques, like ones against George Bush, might instead go to members of Congress who will surely try to stymie Obama’s agenda. A quick scan of the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota showed a virtually all-white America harkening for different times. Imagine what they will do and feel after January 2009. ___No one can deny the excitability factor Obama brings to this election cycle. I’ve seen apolitical young people feel empowered. On an optical level, seeing Obama on a national stage can be self-empowering to some black men. I just don’t want hip-hop or black America to hold Obama up to impossible expectations. OTHER PARTICIPATING RESPONDENTS: Mark Anthony Neal Adam Bradley R. Scott Heath Natalie Hopkinson Close Window

OPENING RESPONSE

One of the things that I worry about with a Barack Obama win is how black America will feel six months later—after the inauguration, after the confetti, and after the media assesses those first 100 days.

___There are rumblings now about Obama’s commitment to black America. Contrast that with the candidate’s image emblazoned on T-shirts with Malcolm, Martin, and Mandela. Hope is as high as the expectations. As historic and uplifting as an Obama win would be, his ascension to the White House does not put him on the same plane as the aforementioned black trinity. Black America must understand that Obama would be president of all of America, not just black people.

___As I write this, I can’t help but think of the embattled Kwame Kilpatrick. The soon-to-be former mayor of Detroit copped to felonious infidelity and is headed to jail. He was such promise to the post-Civil Rights generation as the “hip-hop mayor.” Kilpatrick squandered his talent, but there are other young pols of the hip-hop generation who are loyal to the race but also understand racially charged language doesn’t always facilitate good governance. At times, Kilpatrick understood that for his post-industrial city.

___If Obama wins, I hope the hip-hop generation doesn’t skewer him for not solely thinking about a black agenda. I’m not saying my fellow South Sider isn’t above critique. I’d like to believe that musical candor can still exist, just not putting all of the burden on one man.

___I believe many hip-hop artists will see Obama as one person. He is not the Messiah with a magic wand who can whisk away racism and reverse policies with one wave. If he fulfills his promise of being an agent of change, that doesn’t mean institutional racism will disappear just because he’s the leader of the free world.

___Thus, hip-hop doesn’t have to abandon political discourse if Obama wins. If he’s president, discrimination in all quarters won’t disappear. Educational inequality will be there. The criminal justice system will cripple on. Obama won’t be powerless, but he can’t undo hundreds of years of bad policies. But hip-hop doesn’t have pull back its punches. Individual critiques, like ones against George Bush, might instead go to members of Congress who will surely try to stymie Obama’s agenda. A quick scan of the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota showed a virtually all-white America harkening for different times. Imagine what they will do and feel after January 2009.

___No one can deny the excitability factor Obama brings to this election cycle. I’ve seen apolitical young people feel empowered. On an optical level, seeing Obama on a national stage can be self-empowering to some black men. I just don’t want hip-hop or black America to hold Obama up to impossible expectations.

OTHER PARTICIPATING RESPONDENTS: