I can't begin to express the frustration that I feel when I hear statements like, "Obama isn't black enough." Someone has even taken up the cause to field the issue in a comparative note on YouTube. The funny thing is that it's so ironic how Obama's blackness continues to be an issue in America when this country created, codified, and legalized the one drop rule. Up until recent times did anyone dare question the lineage of a person as long as there was a significant amount of melanin in their skin tone. And yet, here is a man that is obviously black and identifies himself as such but people still feel the need to question his authenticity. Maybe it's the fact that as a black man with a white mother he had the audacity to marry a black woman? Hmmh! One has to wonder where this fodder is coming from and why black America keeps eating it. Would it a make a difference if he was raised by a single black woman in the projects and his father was white? I doubt if anyone would question his blackness then.
Black Americans must be mindful of the garbage that is thrust at them to get sidetracked from the issue. Barack Obama, who happens to be black and married to a black woman, is the best democratic candidate running for president. His color should not be of issue here but the results that he can bring to this country. I am more concerned about ending this war and universal health care than I am about the type of comb Obama uses. I feel that he is the only one who can honestly make an effort to provide these things and that's why I support Obama. His blackness is just a plus for me and as an African American I am proud.
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Great post. This "non-issue" frustrates me so much, especially because Barack is so committed to community. I understand that folks feel that some African-Americans have compromised themselves to acquire success. But if you just do some basic research and look past the surface--to see Barack's work as a community organizer and civil rights lawyer, the legislation he has introduced to protect voting rights and to ensure equality in the criminal justic system--one sees that Barack has bypassed the trappings of "success" in order to advance our community.
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