The leader of the National Urban League thinks that President Obama should specifically cater to “black America”. The organization, who’s self-proclaimed mission is to “enable African Americans” wants the Obama administration to instead coddle them and provide for them what they supposedly can’t attain through their own desires and motivations.

Could President Obama be the most racist president in history? Back in May of 2008 Obama was interviewed on Meet the Press by Tim Russert. In that interview, Obama stated he was “committing to a church and I was committing to Christ. And it is a wonderful church.” This was in response to a question about his reverend, from whom he was distancing himself at the time for political expediency. Obama attended the church for over 20 years whose committments were to “the Black Community”. Let’s look at what Obama has “committed” to:

The second commitment, behind only their commitment to God, that Trinity United Church subscribes to is Commitment to the Black Community. Personally, and I don’t know about all you’uns, I want a president that is committed to the AMERICAN community, not a slice of it! Can you imagine if Senator McCain or President Bush had belonged to a church whose precepts included a “Commitment to the White Community?”

After a commitment to the black community, the third concept of Obama’s former church is Commitment to the Black Family. In a press conference after Wright’s most incendiary comments, Obama stated the following as a distraction to his current predicament, saying, “People want some help in stabilizing their lives and securing a better future for themselves and their children and that’s what we should be talking about.”

Well, let’s talk about that then. My question is exactly to which people is he referring. If he is indeed committed to the “Black Family” and “Black Community” I’m a little concerned that my family’s “better future” is in jeopardy. I happen to be what some would consider “white,” though I refuse to classify myself on any official government or personal documents. What about the AMERICAN Family? Are they going to be taken into account? Granted, “Black Families” ARE “American Families”, but consider Trinity United Church’s “10-Point Vision” of commitments.

According to the church’s website, and their 4th vision point, “The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ [emphasis mine] is committed to… a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA. [emphasis theirs]” Shouldn’t a United States President have a “non-negotiable” commitment to the, um…UNITED STATES?!

Now we have the National Urban League sending a message to the President, no longer merely a candidate, asking a black man in the nation’s highest post if “racial barriers ahve now been erased in America.” The NUL statement says that “African Americans remain twice as likely as whites to be unemployed, three times more likely to live in poverty and more than six times as likely to be incarcerated.” I can’t help but wonder if a poor, black man like Barack Obama can reach the nation’s highest political office - the most powerful position in the world - why can’t the rest of the black population? Is Obama the exception to the rule? If so, why aren’t more African Americans striving to accomplish what Obama did instead of asking for handouts?

The NUL wants to make victims out of the black community and prevent them from standing on their own two feet. Its presumption is that black people probably aren’t good enough or smart enough to act on their own so they need special government programs to motivate them to succeed. Naturally, I disagree with this thought process. I work directly with two black Soldiers who are very accomplished in their individual fields and have met many others who would also disagree.

One of my Soldiers mentioned he recently returned home and visited with some people from his neighborhood. He said that some of his friends still live with their parents and are well into their mid to late 20’s. They work a minimum wage job and have no desire to work to get ahead the way he is because it would jeopardize their benefits. My Soldier’s standard of living is far above that of his peers from home. He lived in a poor, black community and people have options - they just don’t choose to use them.

The problem with groups like NUL is that they don’t empower the black community to do anything but sit back and take what’s given to them. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if, instead of asking for government programs that cater to their “race”, they would speak directly to their communities and motivate them to DO something with themselves if this is such a problem. We live in a country with a black President. Colin Powell didn’t waller in his poverty and made something of himself. Obama did the same thing.

Let’s assume that the NUL gets everything they want from the President. Then, let’s assume it “works” and black are on par with whites (whatever that means). The playing field is leveled. Do we then end those programs? And if we do, will the playing field stay level or will the community revert back its impoverished state because they were never allowed to make it to that level with a TRUE playing field. Is it really equality if you don’t have to work for success?

The majority of the people I know in the so-called black community don’t want to be treated differently. They want to be treated equally. They are pissed that there are people in their community who refuse to do anything for themselves and enjoy playing the victim. Another one of my Soldiers was pissed because he has to pay $209 in taxes this year and he is a single father with a house and child support payments while the guy down the street from him gets money for just existing! He did nothing to earn that money and my Soldier, who is defending this country and making something of himself supposedly owes the IRS over $200!! Is that something? But that is exactly what the NUL and Obama want to continue.

The NUL wants to target jobs to a specific group of people, not the most qualified, by placing jobs in poor urban communities. It wants you and me to pay for child care for 3 and 4 year olds in the black community. It wants special funding for mortgage and educational programs, something that is unconstitutional not that anyone cares. And it wants a targeted system to provide blacks with health education, prevention and intervention. And all this while saying through the other side of its mouth that the black community must be self-responsible.

If you don’t think the President would do these things you should know that he personall wrote the forward to the NUL’s 2007 “State of Black America” report.

Disclaimer: I did not read the full report, just the executive summary. I refuse to pay $19.95 for the full report.

Posted on March 25th, 2009 by CJ
Filed under: Uncategorized