The Black Crisis: We Can versus We Can’t

Last May I wrote a story about a black community activist who was interviewed recently by a local radio station. When she was asked what she thought would be the impact on the community if Obama was elected president. She said,

I think we will have to come up with a new excuse. We can’t blame it on the man if he is one of us!

I find it ironic that despite electing our first black president and providing inspiration for black people throughout the country,  the highlight of our attorney general’s speech this week is how “in things racial” we are a “nation of cowards”. This week we also saw Rev. Sharpton point out that a cartoon that was obviously blasting the stimulus package was in fact, racist. My son who just completed an AP history course did not make the racist connection until I reminded him of the cartoons from over a hundred years ago. It is not hard to conclude that these comments by Sharpton and Holder will hinder many young black men and women trying to improve their lives. We have the opportunity for these young men and women to gain inspiration from the success of President Obama and Oprah Winfrey and our second line leaders are still reliving the civil rights movement. It is not hard to conclude that  some of our black leaders are hypocrites and  cowards on “racial things”.