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Obama at Year One

Posted By The Editors | January 22nd, 2010 | Category: Uncategorized | 2 comments Print This Post Print This Post

By John Payton

<p>John Payton</p>

John Payton

A year ago, we could barely contain our excitement as we contemplated a historic achievement. Barack Obama had won a decisive victory. There was widespread enthusiasm for his Presidency. Right after the election, Gallup reported that 68 percent of the public was proud that Obama was President. His choices of Senator Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State, of Eric Holder to be Attorney General and of Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense were well received. His Inaugural speech was brilliant. We were looking forward to acknowledging and confronting fundamental problems that have plagued our society for decades.

To be sure, President Obama and the nation faced enormous, unprecedented problems: the economic catastrophe that was referred to as a recession but often felt more like a depression; the resulting foreclosure crisis and dramatic loss of wealth in minority communities; the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; the loss of confidence in virtually all institutions of government, and serious questions about America’s commitment to its fundamental principles and its standing in the world. But, we were encouraged.

Those of us committed to seeing America fulfill its promise of equality and justice for all were particularly encouraged. Forty years after the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy America had elected an African American to its highest office. Our commitment to robust African-American participation in the political process had been rewarded. Fundamental reforms to address America’s failure to provide justice and equality in education, economic advancement and the criminal justice seemed possible.

So, what has come of last year’s promise? That is the point of the articles considering President Obama’s first year in office that begin today and will appear throughout the month in TheDefendersOnline.com. How much, if any, of the progress in racial justice suggested by the Obama Presidency has been achieved? Where are we now? What more do we need to do?

As we review the specifics of the last year one thing is clear: January 2010 is a much more sobering time than January 2009. Our excitement at the possibility of progress has been dampened by the challenges and the resistance. The deep disaffection with and distrust of government has limited its ability to achieve even modest goals, much less address the fundamental issues on our agenda. The lavishly-financed program to save and stabilize financial institutions, a program deemed essential by both the Bush and Obama Administrations, only deepened and spread that disaffection and distrust. Most troubling, the presence of a black President, a source of national pride immediately after the election, had exposed lingering racial animosities and fears expressed in crude cartoons, racist rants, and an unprecedented number of threats to the President’s safety. The exploitation of this animosity, fear, disaffection and distrust and resulting polarization has made progress much more difficult.

All of this seems very foreseeable in hindsight. But most of it was not foreseen a year ago. Our enthusiasm got the better of us. We forgot, for a time, that progress has always required struggle and perseverance.

So, now it is time to take a look at how this last year went, to remember that a year is a brief time in the life of a nation, and to think about what is possible during the rest of the President’s term.

John Payton is President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.

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  1. AP January 24th, 2010 2:38 pm :

    .

    Actually … President OBAMA IS NOT a member of the very unique
    ETHNIC group referred to today by the term of AFRICAN-AMERICAN.

    The reason for this has nothing to do with President Obama being
    of Mixed-Race Lineage, as the majority of the members of this
    Ethnic grouping are also of a (continually) Mixed-Race lineage.

    Contrary to popular (although false) assumption … the term
    of ‘AFRICAN-AMERICAN’ (AA) DOES NOT MEAN ‘BLACK’
    NOR IS IT even a reference to A “RACE” CATEGORY at all.

    ***************************************************************

    AAs & BAs: The KEY difference between these TWO (2) groups …

    ***************************************************************

    The African-Americans (AAs) are an ETHNIC
    grouping of people that is comprised ONLY of:

    *** The ‘Descendants-Of-The-Survivors’ of
    the chattel-slavery system that took place on
    the continental United States of America
    during the antebellum era of its history.***

    Most (+70%) — although not all — of the people
    who are born to two (2) AA parents are found to
    have an ancestral “racial” lineage that includes
    varying amounts of African (45-55%), Amerindian
    (+25%) and also European (+20-30%) bloodlines
    – that were both admixed into and “continually
    remained” within the lineage of their families.

    (Meaning they are of the Mixed-Race category that is
    referred to as “Multi-Generational Multiracially-Mixed”
    or as ‘MGM-Mixed’ racially-admixed ancestral lineage)

    Thus, this incredibly unique ETHNIC group of people is
    actually not seen (by most scientists and geneticist)
    as being a ‘Black’ RACE group (or any sort of RACE
    group) at all — but rather they are seen as actually
    being comprised of people that span across
    the following “racial” categories and groups …

    **** Multiracial
    (about 70% of the AAs — ex. Jayne Kennedy)

    **** Black
    (about 20% of the AAs — ex. Oprah Winfrey)

    **** Biracial
    (About 5% of the AAs — ex. Jennifer Beals)

    **** Amerindian or White
    (About 5% of the AAs — ex. Walter White)

    ““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““

    The Black Americans (BAs) are a RACE
    grouping of people that consists ONLY of:

    ***The ‘Volitional Immigrants’ that are from nations
    that are found all over the world and who are both
    Fully of the Black Race group and who are also
    NOT the descendants-of-the-survivors of the
    chattel slavery system that was once found
    on the continental United States of America.***

    As noted, the BAs are a RACE group and
    are seen as being of a fully-Black lineage.

    ““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““

    answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al5eeK2CFwcv4rD5U5qzvEfty6IX?qid=20070527201834AAIhzhM&show=7#profile-info-CiC2JY9Maa

    answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiebDu.tSshJzQ0wS5fMp7jty6IX?qid=20070623205206AANUzPN&show=7#profile-info-q1hdwifgaa

    answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjwuxYj8agKY7yGgqaJ7i.Xty6IX?qid=20070704121228AA7ZMsA&show=7#profile-info-ezQwEaJLaa

    boards.mulatto.org/post/show_single_post?pid=35284580&postcount=4

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/3331

    boards.mulatto.org/post/show_single_post?pid=34070161&postcount;=13

    mgmix.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=879:light-skin-curse-a-different-point-of-view&catid=36:biracial#comment-1271

    newsblaze.com/story/20090621155502zzzz.nb/topstory.html

    boards.mulatto.org/post/show_single_post?pid=34070414&postcount;=14

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/2885

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/3344

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1399

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1747

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1402

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1400

    groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1570

    .

  2. Horace Moning January 24th, 2010 2:41 pm :

    I”am a black man that came up in the 60″s i want to be connected to all the black information i can you keep learning.

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