Article on Barack Obama

[bitkahuna]

Not sure what to make of this... your thoughts? The author is apparently a Pulitzer prize winner, so no hack.



As society sees it, Obama is black

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Apparently, it comes as quite a surprise to some people that Barack Obama is black.

I’m driven to this realization by the response to a recent column in which I referred to the senator as African-American. Many people wrote to correct me on that. Among the most memorable was a guy who said: “I heard his dad was a radical Muslim from Africa and his mom was a white atheist from Kansas City. If that be the case wouldn’t he be half a black man and half a white man? If he’s a half breed, shouldn’t you do a correction?”

Then there’s the gentleman who wrote following Obama’s mild criticism of a recent comment by Sen. Joseph Biden to the effect that Obama was the first mainstream black presidential candidate “who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” The e-mail writer saw Obama’s response — he called the comment “historically inaccurate” — as a fatal misstep, sign of a philosophical alliance with the dreaded Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and it changed, he said, his view of Obama. “Up to now,” he wrote, “I did not see him as an Afro American.”

Most folks were less ... strident than these two, but the core concern was the same: Obama should not be identified as African-American.

To which there is an easy answer: I call him African-American because that’s what he calls himself.

There is, however, another answer that is not so easy.

If Obama asked to be identified as biracial, I would accommodate him because I believe that, within broad limits, people should be allowed to define themselves as they please. But with that said, I must confess I’ve always found that term rather meaningless insofar as the African-American experience goes.

That’s not to criticize anybody who feels compelled to honor a multiplicity of heritages. For the record, many — maybe most — African-Americans are multiracial. One of my ancestors was Irish. My wife has Japanese and American Indian forebears. But my point is less about how one sees oneself than about how one is seen by the world at large. And I’m sorry: you can be as “biracial” as you want; so long as your features show any hint of Africa, that world is going to give you the treatment it reserves for “black.”

Assume for a minute Obama didn’t have a famous face. Assume he was just another brother tooling down Main Street. Do you really think the cop who pulls him over for no good reason is going to change his tune if he is told Obama’s mama is white?

“Oh. Sorry, Mr. Obama. I didn’t realize you were BIRACIAL. Have a good day.”

No way. You may be many things, but if one of them is black, that trumps the rest in terms of how the world sees you. Black is definitive.

Granted, this is, at some level, a silly conversation: as a scientific construct, race is meaningless. But as a social construct, it’s anything but. So Obama becomes, inevitably, a Rorschach inkblot of our racial maturity. Meaning that what people see when they look at him so far seems to say more about them than him.

Which brings us back to Biden’s remarks. I’m not qualified to judge the “nice-looking” part. But articulate? Even their critics would concede that Shirley Chisholm and the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton — all black, all former contenders for the presidency — talk real good.

Bright? They seems intelligent enuf.

Clean? I stood near Jackson in an airport once. He didn’t smell.

What Biden surely meant to say is that Obama is the first black presidential candidate who is potentially electable. But what he wound up saying is revealing and what it reveals is not pretty. Biden was not the first. He won’t be the last.

Meantime, I’ve got two words of advice for those folks who are surprised to learn Barack Obama is black:

Eye. Doctor.

[CK6Speed]

I don't get involved in political debate, but this one is not really political as far as I know. Or is it? Funny how some don't think Obama is a black man because he is of a mixed race. However, they love it when Tiger Woods represents the black community. I just don't get it. I'm of mixed race myself so I can understand what individuals who is from mixed races have to sometimes deal with. If Obama is black and proud so be it. Good for him. If he wants to be called biracial, who cares. Some people need better things to complain about.

[mmarshall]

Can we simply FORGET about what this man's race, skin color, or ethnicity is, and start talking about his fitness and qualifications are for being PRESIDENT? Who GIVES a damn what color his skin is?

[okiaristo]

i like him. seems focused on him and not slamming the other party. am i wrong? i dont get too much tv coverage on him in japan.

[1SICKLEX]

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Can we simply FORGET about what this man's race, skin color, or ethnicity is, and start talking about his fitness and qualifications are for being PRESIDENT? Who GIVES a damn what color his skin is?

I agree but sadly, the media loves to print and bring up race. Look at the superbowl coaches...I didn't even know Chicago's coach was black until last weekend

[DASHOCKER]

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Can we simply FORGET about what this man's race, skin color, or ethnicity is, and start talking about his fitness and qualifications are for being PRESIDENT? Who GIVES a damn what color his skin is?

This would be wonderful Marshall, but remember, many fought and died for your notion to become a "reality"..but is America fully there yet?? Answer is no.. If so, then his candidacy would not be a big issue. Ross Perot for instance, had no political experience when he ran for president, and was not under the microscope as much as Obama. Go figure..

[Shawnmack]

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Can we simply FORGET about what this man's race, skin color, or ethnicity is, and start talking about his fitness and qualifications are for being PRESIDENT? Who GIVES a damn what color his skin is?

I wish America wouldn't go by race, sex, party or religion and pick the best person for the job but that is not the American way.

[GS wanted]

You mean the terms "bleeding-heart" or "staunch" or "anti-war" liberal weren't thrown around?
Thank goodness... ... ... ...for now.

[GS wanted]

Another interesting article relative to the topic:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/we...7dd&ei=5087%0A

SENATOR JOSEPH R. BIDEN’S characterization of his fellow Democratic presidential contender Senator Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” was so painfully clumsy that it nearly warranted pity.

There are not enough column inches on this page to parse interpretations of each of Mr. Biden’s chosen adjectives. But among his string of loaded words, one is so pervasive — and is generally used and viewed so differently by blacks and whites — that it calls out for a national chat, perhaps a national therapy session.

It is amazing that this still requires clarification, but here it is. Black people get a little testy when white people call them “articulate.”

Though it was little noted, on Wednesday President Bush on the Fox News Channel also described Mr. Obama as “articulate.” On any given day, in any number of settings, it is likely to be one of the first things white people warmly remark about Oprah Winfrey; Richard Parsons, chief executive of Time Warner; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Deval Patrick, the newly elected governor of Massachusetts; or a recently promoted black colleague at work.

A series of conversations about the word with a number of black public figures last week elicited the kind of frustrated responses often uttered between blacks, but seldom shared with whites.

“You hear it and you just think, ‘Damn, this again?’ ” said Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of humanities at the University of Pennsylvania.

Anna Perez, the former communications counselor for Ms. Rice when she was national security adviser, said, “You just stand and wonder, ‘When will this foolishness end?’ ”

Said Reginald Hudlin, president of entertainment for Black Entertainment Television: “It makes me weary, literally tired, like, ‘Do I really want to spend my time right now educating this person?’ ”

So what is the problem with the word? Whites do not normally object when it is used to describe them. And it is not as if articulate black people do not wish to be thought of as that. The characterization is most often meant as a form of praise.

“Look, what I was attempting to be, but not very artfully, is complimentary,” Mr. Biden explained to Jon Stewart on Wednesday on “The Daily Show.” “This is an incredible guy. This is a phenomenon.”

What faint praise, indeed. Being articulate must surely be a baseline requirement for a former president of The Harvard Law Review. After all, Webster’s definitions of the word include “able to speak” and “expressing oneself easily and clearly.” It would be more incredible, more of a phenomenon, to borrow two more of the senator’s puzzling words, if Mr. Obama were inarticulate.

That is the core of the issue. When whites use the word in reference to blacks, it often carries a subtext of amazement, even bewilderment. It is similar to praising a female executive or politician by calling her “tough” or “a rational decision-maker.”

“When people say it, what they are really saying is that someone is articulate ... for a black person,” Ms. Perez said.

Such a subtext is inherently offensive because it suggests that the recipient of the “compliment” is notably different from other black people.

“Historically, it was meant to signal the exceptional Negro,” Mr. Dyson said. “The implication is that most black people do not have the capacity to engage in articulate speech, when white people are automatically assumed to be articulate.”

And such distinctions discount as inarticulate historically black patterns of speech. “Al Sharpton is incredibly articulate,” said Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. “But because he speaks with a cadence and style that is firmly rooted in black rhetorical tradition you will rarely hear white people refer to him as articulate.”

While many white people do not automatically recognize how, and how often, the word is applied, many black people can recall with clarity the numerous times it has stopped them in their tracks.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, said her first notable encounter with the word was back in high school in Chester, Va., when she was dating the school’s star football player. In post-game interviews and news stories she started to notice that he was always referred to as articulate.

“They never said that about the white quarterback,” she said, “yet they couldn’t help but say it about my boyfriend.”

William E. Kennard, a managing director of the Carlyle Group and a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, recalled that in his days as partner at a Washington law firm in the early 1990s written reviews of prospective black hires almost always included the words, “articulate and poised.” The characterization was so consistent and in such stark contrast to the notes taken on white job applicants that he mentioned it to his fellow partners.

“It was a law firm; all of the people interviewing for jobs were articulate,” said Mr. Kennard, 50, who is also on the board of The New York Times Company. “And yet my colleagues seemed struck by that quality in black applicants.”

The comedian and actor D. L. Hughley, a frequent guest on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” says that every time he appears on the show, where he riffs on the political and social issues of the day, people walk up to him afterward and tell him how “smart and articulate” his comments were.

“Everyone was up in arms about Michael Richards using the N-word, but subtle words like this are more insidious,” Mr. Hughley said. “It’s like weight loss. The last few pounds are the hardest to get rid of. It’s the last vestiges of racism that are hard to get rid of.”

Sometimes the “articulate” moniker is merely implied. My colleague Rachel Swarns and I chuckle wearily about the number of times we have finished interviews or casual conversations with people — always white, more often male — only to have the person end the meeting with some version of the statement, “something about you reminds me of Condoleezza Rice.”

Neither Rachel nor I look anything like Ms. Rice, or each other for that matter, so the comparison is clearly not physical. The comment seems more a vocalized reach by the speaker for some sort of reference point, a context in which to understand us.

It is unlikely that whites will quickly or easily erase “articulate” and other damning forms of praise from the ways in which they discuss blacks. Listen for it in post-Super Bowl chatter, after the Academy Awards, at the next school board meeting or corporate retreat.

But here is a pointer. Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person. Do not make it an outsized distinction for Brown University’s president, Ruth Simmons, if you would not for the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman. Do not make it the sole basis for your praise of the actor Forest Whitaker if it would never cross your mind to utter it about the expressive Peter O’Toole.

With the ballooning size of the black middle and upper class, qualities in blacks like intelligence, eloquence — the mere ability to string sentences together with tenses intact — must at some point become as unremarkable to whites as they are to blacks.

“How many flukes simply constitute reality?” Mr. Hudlin asked, with amused dismay.

Well said.

[JLSC4]

It is interesting how biracial people, mostly when it involves a person who is half black, is almost always described as black. Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, Malcolm X, to name a few are considered black and represent the black community. Even though they are no more than half black. Tiger Woods is only about 1/4 black, lol. (he's more asian than black). Malcom X may come as a surprise but he's half African-American, a quarter Grenadian, and a quarter White American. I didn't know this. It seems that the African American side does take over and is by the choice of the person.


It is sad though that more focus is about whether they're black or a women for these canidates. I think that's the case for Hillary. Will people ever really listen to her views or will they just see her as a possible first female president.

[DASHOCKER]

Originally Posted by JLSC4

It is interesting how biracial people, mostly when it involves a person who is half black, is almost always described as black. Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, Malcolm X, to name a few are considered black and represent the black community. Even though they are no more than half black. Tiger Woods is only about 1/4 black, lol. (he's more asian than black). Malcom X may come as a surprise but he's half African-American, a quarter Grenadian, and a quarter White American. I didn't know this. It seems that the African American side does take over and is by the choice of the person.

Because black folks come in all different shades.. Some where down the line, a large percentage of blacks had a white person in the family tree. Some blacks identify more with their white side than black side & vice versa. Clarence Thomas, Codeleeza Rice, J.C Watts are examples of those who identify more with their white side.

Can Tiger Woods, Malcolm X, Barak Obama, Halle Berry fit in to the television sitcom the Brady Bunch? That one drop rule might disqualify them.

[morris]

retiring from the discussion

[DASHOCKER]

Originally Posted by morris

So how do you know who those people identify with?

http://www.carpentersunionbc.com/Med...et_science.jpg

You can't tell Morris.

[morris]

Retiring from the discussion.

[GS wanted]

Originally Posted by JLSC4

It is interesting how biracial people, mostly when it involves a person who is half black, is almost always described as black. Tiger Woods, Halle Berry, Malcolm X, to name a few are considered black and represent the black community. Even though they are no more than half black. Tiger Woods is only about 1/4 black, lol. (he's more asian than black). Malcom X may come as a surprise but he's half African-American, a quarter Grenadian, and a quarter White American. I didn't know this. It seems that the African American side does take over and is by the choice of the person.

It is sad though that more focus is about whether they're black or a women for these canidates. I think that's the case for Hillary. Will people ever really listen to her views or will they just see her as a possible first female president.

There is a history behind this phenomenon. And, I believe Tiger Woods chooses to shy away from claiming himself as "black" but it's more of a media thing to label him that way. He's actually taken some criticism for his stance, or lack thereof. But the historical tracing of the "one drop" that Dashocker mentions goes back to the 1800s.

An excerpt from Jim Crow Triumph of the One-Drop Rule:
[The early decades of the twentieth century, especially the years from 1900 to 1919, saw the triumph of the one-drop rule throughout America. Americans of European appearance, culture, and genetic admixture had sometimes been assigned to the Black endogamous group in earlier decades. Indeed, the notion of invisible Blackness started in the North and worked its way into the upper South slave states during the crisis decade of the 1850s, spreading to the lower South after Reconstruction. But no prior progress can compare to the explosion in its court usage between 1900 and 1919. During these years, a dozen states adopted statutory endogamous group membership based on “one drop.” A dozen other states retained blood fraction statutes de jure but amended them to such tiny fractions that they were one-drop de facto. In yet other states, judges and juries ignored their own states’ statutes or Constitutions in order to assign to the Black group anyone with relatives or social connections in the Black group.

As mentioned earlier, some use the term “one-drop rule” as synonymous with Marvin Harris’s term “hypodescent,” meaning that Americans of visible African admixture are considered Black, even if that admixture is less than 50 percent.6 The present work focuses only upon the most extreme form of one-drop—the idea that Americans who look completely European, without even a hint of Africa, are classified as members of the Black endogamous group nonetheless. They are seen as unsuitable marriage partners by Whites but suitable by Blacks because of an invisible touch (one drop) of Black ancestry.]