Are We Living In A Post-Racial Society?

With the election of Barack Obama to the presidency the question has come up, are we living in a post-racial society? In other words has the concept of race lost its cache, or meaning? Let's examine this and see what we come up with, it may be that we've reached that land that Dr. King saw from the mountain top. Of course, it may be as illusory as a mirage in the Sahara on a hot day.

What lies at the heart of this question is the notion that something fundamental has changed within society, either as a result of Obama's campaign or independent of that campaign. As we consider this question it would be good to lay out some facts that we can take into account. First of all 53% of Americans voted for Obama, or against McCain, as the case may be. While an almost equal number voted for McCain/Palin or against Obama. This being said we're talking about millions of people on each side of the line in almost equal numbers. You'll recall it was the independent/undecided voters that tipped the scales in Obama's favor.

Fact number two: throughout the campaign Obama was dogged by questions of lack of experience, etc. This was not the first time a candidate was labeled with that tag, but it was particularly galling in Obama's case, because it was very reminiscent of the infamous "grandfather clause." Witness the contrast here between McCain, who like Bush had generations of "leadership" experience behind him, while Obama had only his own experience in college and community organizing. How was he to overcome this gap without going back in time and rewriting history. It appeared to be an insurmountable gap.

Fact number three: everything was thrown at him, including the kitchen sink, by Hillary, McCain and Palin. No stone was left unhurled, including the use of his middle name as a label of unfitness for the job.

Fact number four: everything was thrown at him short of playing the obvious race card. Obama was cool enough to never even bring up race, but he did respond forcefully when his opponents tried to broach it in a circuitous manner.

Fact number five: race was an issue, albeit an unspoken issue. It was the 800 lb. gorilla in the room, but Obama deftly avoided it to the consternation of some of his Black supporters, who in the end were understanding enough to know why he was leaving that issue alone.

What his opponents did say about race came through when they spoke of his numbers. They always tried to make him "the Black candidate." In the past other candidates, like Carl Stokes, were dogged with accusations like this and came up with creative ways of addressing it, without alienating his supporters of either race. Obama was just as deft in dealing with the Reverend Wright issue, which was a race issue; his middle name issue "Hussein," which was a race/religious issue and the terrorist association issue, which was not so much a race issue; but spoke to how "different" he was compared to the other candidates.

All of the above issues were couched in a blanket of "difference." All the diversity training in the world was not enough to keep the other candidates from pointing out, "he's not like us." The logical conclusion here is that race is still very much an issue that cannot be overlooked, just like that 800 lb. gorilla in the room.

In the end it appears that Obama won not because of some drastic shift in the status quo, or the racial proclivities of whites, but rather by the use of superior strategy, gamesmanship and good timing.

The fact is America is as backwards when it comes to attitudes about race today as it ever has been. In a presentation I'm readying for publication entitled, "Black Men On The Money," I'll deal with the some of these attitudes and perceptions. Here's a little exercise you can do right now to see where you're really at on the issue of race. Take a look at the picture at the beginning of this article and make a note of what race you think each of these people represent. Some of them you may know by name and/or face and others may be unfamiliar to you. Regardless, without using a reference work, or the internet to try and identify them first, just look at them as people and see if you can correctly identify their "race."

When you're done go to www.quadratix.org for information on each person seen in the picture. This is something that we all need to look at very carefully and consider what our own attitudes are toward the persistent question of racial identity in America.

I Never Thought I'd Live To See The Day!!

As we bring 2008 to a close I'd like to reflect on some of the commentary regarding President elect Obama. The media pundits seem to have achieved a state of nirvana regarding the election of Obama to the presidency of the United States. They act as if a Black man had never run a country before. For their information I'd like to speak on this matter.

Clearly, the election of Obama to the presidency is something that many of us thought we would not see in our lifetime. However, it's not all that the media would like to make out of it.

Number One: Africa's descendants have led many great nations, down through the ages.

Number Two: Some of these great leaders have led the United States of America.

Number Three: Great nations continue to be led by Black men today.

Let's look at these three points. The word president is a title to describe the leader of a country. Many countries around the globe now use this title in emulation of the government of the United States of America. Many countries also use the title prime minister, some continue to use the word king and, or queen. However, you want to look at it, it's just a title. It conveys no more status than any other title. In fact, it conveys less status than the title emperor or king.

The descendants of Africa have ruled as many, if not more, nations as any other group of people on the globe. So, why should it be so amazing that Obama could be elected president of this nation? Well, as a matter of fact the descendants of Africa have occupied this office before. Admittedly, we were not taught this in school, but I think the facts will bear me out.

The economy of the U.S. was based on the chattel slavery of Africans for over a hundred years. During the course of this enslavement a doctrine of "white supremacy" developed. This doctrine had as one of its basic tenets the idea of the purity and sanctity of the white race. Therefore, even one drop of "Black blood" would cause one's lineage to be tainted, and would also cause all of one's progeny to no longer be of the white race, but rather of the "Black" race.

Oftentimes this led to the labeling of people that appeared to be white as Black. This was a handy device, especially in the later years of slavery, when the importation of new slaves had been outlawed. Many a "white person" was enslaved after having been accused of being Black. If they could not produce paperwork proving their "whiteness" slave-catchers could snatch them up and spirit them away to a slave state where they would be bought and sold. There are a number of well documented cases where this happened and the family eventually "proved" the person was not Black and should therefore be released.

It's also been documented and attested to by eyewitnesses that a number of presidents of the United States of America were known to have been from Black families. These presidents include Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Dwight Eisenhower. There are other prominent Americans still "passing" for white, as did Alexander Hamilton.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term "passing" as it is used in the Black community. Passing is when you cross over the color line by denying any and all association with your blood relations and create a new life out of sheer fiction. This is something that is quite common in the Black community. Examples of this phenomenon abound. Some prominent people who could and did pass, on occasion, include Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Walter White, John G. Jackson, T. John McKee, Mariah Carey, Queen Charlotte Sophia, Alexander Dumas, Alexander Leidesdorff, Alexander Pushkin and President Warren G. Harding. Many of these individuals accepted their "Blackness" and even reveled in it. But, this was not true across the board.

Alexander Leidesdorff's story was particularly tragic. He lost his first love when he informed her of his "tainted" background. Following that incident he moved to the other side of the country and kept his background in the closet. Alexander Dumas the French author of "The Three Musketeers," "The Man In the Iron Mask" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" was told, in no uncertain terms by his agent, that he should not even consider vacationing in America, for fear of losing a major market due to the endemic racism of the times.

On the other hand there were individuals like Adam Clayton Powell, Alexander Pushkin, Walter White and James G. Jackson who not only reveled in their "Blackness," but at times used their white appearance to infiltrate "white supremacist" organizations as spies.

So, when we hear of someone passing it's not far-fetched at all, because oftentimes we have people in our families who have been passing for years.

Last, but not least there should be no doubt that the descendants of Africa have been leaders in every field including cotton, since we arrived on these shores. So, why in heaven's name should it be amazing that a Black man could be elected to the presidency. There's a poem by "Straight Out Scribes," entitled "I Never Thought I'd Live To See The Day," that talks about the election of Nelson Mandela to the presidency of the unabashedly racist country of South Africa. If Mandela could be released from a life sentence for treason, after 30 years smashing rocks and then become President of South Africa, surely this could happen in the U.S.

The thing that's most "amazing" is that in spite of the racist policies still in force in this country, a Black man has risen to the top without having to deny his racial heritage. Yes, he's Black! They'll never let him forget. He's Black all right, he'll never let them forget.

Black United Students Celebrate 40 Years at KSU

Black United Students (BUS) was founded 40 years ago this year, on the campus of Kent State University. The organization has gone through many changes over time. But, much remains the same.

Dr. Larry Simpson, the first president of BUS, returned to the campus November 8, 2008 for a celebration of the past 40 years. He's now the Senior Vice President of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, in charge of academic affairs. Over the years his experience with BUS has served him well. As he stated in his keynote address the other night. Being involved in BUS gave him a window into the adult world that he may not have experienced had it not been for BUS. Mostly, it was about learning how to work with other people and function as a member of society.

In his work at Berklee, the world's largest music school, he is still an advocate for students and their success within an institutional environment, as is another former BUS president Dean Tim Moore. Dean Moore is an Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University. He's also a professor in Pan-African Studies where he's taught for over 30 years.

A number of other past presidents of BUS and BUS members were present for the celebration and awarding of Dr. Edward W. Crosby with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He also spoke about the significance of BUS in the formation of 3 academic departments at Kent State University. The Pan-African Studies Department is one of those departments. In 1968 there was no Pan-African Studies Department. Dr. Crosby was brought to Kent to form just such a department. In the beginning it was known as the Institute of African American Affairs (IAAA).

IAAA was crucial to the lives of many of the Black students on campus. Many of them would not have graduated had it not been for the support of IAAA. Many of these students experienced culture shock upon entering the university environment and needed somewhere to go that felt familiar. They also needed help in a number of other ways, including academics, finances, etc. As Dr. Crosby stated so eloquently that night he "clothed himself with students," which served him well in negotiating with the powers that be, while it served the students too.

Affirmative Action laws were in place, but in some ways it seemed as if IAAA was doing all the heavy lifting in that regard. No department on campus had as many Black faculty. To this day many of those Black faculty are still teaching at Kent, although few of them were seen that night. This was a night for the students.

Following the parade of presidents the current members of the BUS executive board outlined their goals for this year. Some of the highlights included working on the Obama campaign and going into neighboring communities to work with the youth. The Progressive Education Community School which was initiated in the late 60's as the African Liberation Tutoring program has had new life breathed into it by the current BUS board. Kaisha Sherills has been instrumental in bringing this program back to life. She is the Community Affairs Officer of BUS and is a real spark plug.

Ashley Tolliver current BUS president and her board did a fine job of putting together a program in less than 2 months. They are to be commended for their efforts. Hopefully, their experience with BUS will be as noteworthy and invigorating as that of past BUS members.

Announcing publication of, "Blakfacts Volume 1"

Featuring updated facts about President-elect Barack Obama!!!

It's been a long time coming, but it's finally ready for prime time. "Blakfacts Volume 1" is a compendium of notable facts in the history of the African diaspora. You'll encounter heroes and sheroes; warriors and peacemakers; presidents and popes. In fact there's no telling what kind of folks you'll encounter.

This book is for young and old! You'll learn about things your teacher never told you in school. They say,

"those who do not know their history are destined to repeat it!"

This fully illustrated volume is the first in a series of books which will broaden the horizons of its readers. If you thought you knew something about African American history, think again.

As the editor of this series, based on the research of J.A. Rogers and the illustrations of A.S. Milai, I am particularly proud to present this unique offering to the children of today following the most auspicious occasion of the election of the first Black President of the United States, in the 21st century.

Buy it now by selecting this live link to PayPal's secure server. PayPal can accept Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express and other forms of payment. Take advantage of our low introductory price.

Shipping is free and tax is included!

For those of you unfamiliar with eBooks, you will be sent a link to your eMail address within 24 hours of your payment, which will allow you to download this digital book and print it out in its entirety or one page at a time.

This book is recommended for children and adults alike. The short bios are no more than 1-2 paragraphs and there are numerous illustrations on each page to engage your readers. They're perfect for ages 8 and up. Download your copy now and give them away as Kwanzaa gifts! Use the colorful depictions on the cover to inspire further research by your students.

Please feel free to suggest new subjects for upcoming volumes.

Yours Truly,

Kofi Khemet, M.Ed.
Editor and Researcher

All Hail Commander-in-Chief Obama!!

President Obama

Another long campaign comes to an end. We now know what we may have been unsure of yesterday. The most powerful man in the world is a Black man! The Obamas will soon be occupying the White House, not as a butler and maid, but as the residents of the house.

This is a significant occurrence in American history, but not like some of us may think. "Race" has been a significant issue during this run for the White House. However, this is not the first time an African American has occupied the White House!! According to J.A. Rogers, their have been 4-5 African American presidents already! Now, just in case you missed this lesson during American history class I'll give you a quick recap.

In 1963 Attorney-General Robert Kennedy and Senator Jacob Javits stated:

"there might be a Negro President in the next thirty or forty years, FACT, most outspoken of the big magazines, replied there was already one and in its January-February, 1964 issue had an article 'America's First Negro President.' It named Warren G. Harding as the one and had affidavits from elderly whites who knew the Harding family.

But before Harding three other Presidents had been loudly proclaimed by white people as being of Negro ancestry . . . . Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln."

J. A. Rogers published a small booklet entitled "The Five Negro Presidents: according to what white people said they were" in 1965, offers up more evidence to back up these claims. Oftentimes, these claims of the first Black this and the first Black that is not only overblown, but is actually incorrect.

Ask anyone who the first African American in professional baseball was and they'll readily cite Jackie Robinson. When were the first "Freedom Rides?" Of course, everyone knows they occurred in the 1960's. Who was the first Black Astronaut? That's an easy one, Guion Bluford. However, when we go back and check the records we find that Moses "Fleetwood" Walker preceded Jackie Robinson by about 50 years. The first "Freedom Rides?" Well, as a matter of fact my cousin's husband went on the "Journey of Reconciliation," with Bayard Rutsin and other members of CORE in 1948. This was a test of an interstate transportation law enacted by President Truman outlawing segregation in interstate transportation. Last, but not least, Guion Bluford, one of our best and our brightest was preceded by Capt. Edward J. Dwight, Jr. who entered an astronaut training program in the early 60's.

As you can see from this short list, it can be a lot more difficult to nail down some of these so-called firsts than is apparent at first glance. I have purposely left a lot unsaid. My feeling is that in order to really know something it's best if you find it out for yourself. I will be returning to this topic as we continue to cover the story of Barack Obama, which has become decidedly presidential at this point.

Obama & "The Boss" Come to Cleveland After 20K Rally @ The Q

Young people turned out in force for a political rally at the Quicken Loans Arena on October 29th, 2008. LeBron James, Jay-Z, the Obama Campaign and the Democratic Party held a large rally in downtown Cleveland that was well staged and attended.

News media from around the world were represented, including a Kenyan paper called "The Nation," "Al-Jazeera English," and all the major U.S. news outlets.

The event was significant in that it drew a large crowd of young people during the middle of the week. The program opened up with prayer by a local preacher and continued with appeals to the youth to vote early and in massive numbers. Chris Redfern the head of the Ohio Democratic Party and field organizers within the Obama organization urged the youth to go to the polls enmasse and cast their ballot no matter what the difficulties involved.

They were warned about long lines, lack of food and water. Event host LeBron James and recording artist/entrepreneur Jay-Z implored them to go to the polls and stay there until they had cast their ballot. These were not exactly prophetic words, since long lines have already been noted in Atlanta, GA and other swing states, as well. Some of these lines have people waiting in line for up to 8 hours or more. It's been noted that the majority of these voters are new, young voters supporting Obama. It's a testament to their tenacity and the seriousness of the times that they continue to spend this much time waiting in line to cast their ballots. The much maligned youth have been cast as apathetic and unreliable, however it's this reporters' opinion that they are about to destroy this particular myth.

Senator and Mrs. Obama will be in Cleveland this Sunday at the "Change We Need Rally," Lakeside Malls A, B and C on Lakeside Avenue. The doors open at 2pm and the program begins at 3:45pm on November 2nd. Now we all love Barack, Michelle and the children, but this rally will feature the "real" BOSS! That's right Bruce Springsteen himself will be on the stage with the man we want to be the "BOSS" of the U.S. government. Wow!!! Does it get any better than this?

The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is strongly encouraged. Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you can't make it to the rally remember this, "power concedes nothing without a fight." We've all got to do our part. Don't wait for the last minute to go to the polls. The earlier you go the more likely you are to successfully cast your ballot and be one in 100 million to begin to turn this country around. Your children's posterity and your posterior hang in the balance. Do your duty.

Obama Delivers Closing Argument: Assassination Plot Foiled!

Today Senator Barack Obama wrapped up the presidential campaign that began "on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, "with his "closing argument," delivered to a full house at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio. His closing argument summed up the current state of the campaign and, I'm sure, inspired many residents of Northeast Ohio to continue to work even harder to put him in the White House, on November 4th, 2008.

Even as the diverse crowd basked in the words of the presidential candidate, plans to implement the "final solution" for African Americans, Barack Obama in particular, were being foiled by federal agents in Jackson, Tennessee. This makes the 4th assassination attempt on Baracks life, that's been publicized, since he began his campaign on the steps of the Old State Capitol.

The first incident was the sabotage of his plane by deploying one of the emergency ramps while the plane was in flight, creating a situation where the plane was very difficult to control. Luckily, the pilots were seasoned enough to land the plane without further incident. Aviation authorities said they'd never had an incident like this occur.

The second incident occurred just before the Democratic Convention in Denver, when a conspiracy was uncovered amongst a well armed group of young, White, methamphetamine users in Denver, CO. For those of you unfamiliar with methamphetamines, people who use them become extremely violent and prone to uncontrollable fits of violence.

The third incident was particularly perplexing because it had nothing to do with a White supremacy philosophy or organization. In fact, it involved the grandson of the publisher of one of the oldest African American newspapers in the country, who already had a felony rap sheet. Therefore, he should be doing some hard time.

But, this latest incident, which happened today, involved some White supremacists. In all of these cases, with the exception of the very first incident, heavy firearms and protective gear was involved. However, from the commentary that aired on MSNBC on the "Countdown with Keith Olberman" it appears that this too will be swept under the rug.

Each of these incidents, with the exception of the first one, was serious enough to illicit conspiracy charges and lengthy jail time for the perpetrators. However, we've yet to hear of even one of these cases resulting in a trial, and or jail time. In fact, what we have heard is that the conspirators have been sent home as if to say "boys will be boys." This is not gonna fly, not today, not tomorrow, not ever!

As if all that wasn't enough we also had another incident occur earlier this week involving a young woman who claimed that a "big Black man robbed, assaulted and disfigured her" in part, because she was a supporter of John McCain. This was a ridiculous claim, which was not investigated by the McCain staff, but was instead taken at face value, as evidenced by the calls of support from McCain and his running mate. Even after the young lady confessed to having made a fraudulent claim, which could have led to violent attacks being perpetrated on innocent people McCain has yet to address the issue.

This is a pattern that we've taken note of over the course of the campaign. In fact, the whole tenor of the McCain campaign is having the effect of enabling or endorsing this type of activity. The calls for "Obama's head," the crys of "kill him" when his name is mentioned at McCain rallies have not been addressed by the McCain campaign.

Black folks take these threats seriously. The response of White people is not that these are serious incidents but, rather just some "young knuckleheads." For Black folks these threats are much more serious than White people can even imagine because, many of us have had members of our families discriminated against, threatened with physical violence, murdered and lynched. In many instances we've experienced these things ourselves.

Our wealth, celebrity, educational background, etc. do not usually come into play when these incidents occur. It's the rare exception when our social status comes to our aid. In the case of O.J. Simpson we saw a good example of social status and wealth coming to his aid. Everything about the way he was dealt with was atypical, from the "slow speed" chase to his arrest following the chase. The whole thing was tightly choreographed, all according to the book. It was nothing like the Rodney King incident where he was in a high speed chase and was mercilessly beaten by some of L.A.'s finest.

If his beating hadn't been caught on tape by an amateur videographer he would have just been another number in the system. So, when these kinds of threats are issued, no matter how amateurish they may seem Black people take them very seriously. The federal authorities need to take these incidents just as seriously, because there have been too many nameless African Americans that have been murdered by "amateur" White supremacists. These, so-called amateurs, oftentimes are trying to make a name for themselves and, in fact, could care less whether or not they are killed in the process. Either way, they figure they're going into the history books as die-hard patriots who went down for the count.

Everyone who's interested in seeing Obama actually occupy the White House needs to write a letter to their state representatives and the local newspapers effectively putting them on notice. We should not delay, not even one day in carrying out this task, Obama's life could hang in the balance.

This is an issue that has not and will not be dealt with in any significant way by the media, unless we call them on the carpet. They've shown us this repeatedly, by how they've dealt with all of the incidents mentioned above (I'm getting reports of more incidents as we speak). They'd like to just sweep it under the rug and continue to talk about the issue of "race," without dealing with the reality of race that we're dealing with down here on the ground every day and that Barack and his family is dealing with every day.

All of us have been praying for them since this campaign started. So far, our prayers have been answered. But, prayer without works are futile and works without prayers are empty. We've got to combine positive action with affirmative prayers.