DISQUS

Same response people say to Obama about Trinity UCC. Come on people make decisions based on their own personal situation. A lot of people back in 1980 was not keen about givng a Black man a national holiday. That was cutting edge for the day, and in some cases, it still is. I am sure his aids poll his constituency and felt that it would be best for him not to cast a vote in favor. It's very simplistic and easy to understand. I am might not agree with the logic, but I understand it. And, I am able to understand this being that I am as progressive as they come, and probably will vote for the green party this year.

Not impressed. Not impressed at all. Barack had an opportunity to create a new America. A country that has compassion for people and passion to make a change, but he has selected to deliver the same campaign that has been used by countless Republicans. Let’s create the monster by demonizing Black men as the issue in this country. The entire Black community and specifically Black men have been Willie Hortonized by Barack and his campaign. It’s sickening to watch, and far more heartbreaking to watch the African American community, sit by and let it happen. Yes, we have a segment in our community that has failed to father their children. Yes, we have a high percentage of these young men going to jail. But, let’s be clear. These individuals plight is based on POVERTY! Poverty is a vicious cycle. Compare all impoverish communities in the United States based on race and you will find the same characteristics, such as: crime, drugs, abuse, and neglect. In most cases, poverty equals despair. Until you start to offer some real solutions as in serious job training, true rehabilitation program for young and first time offenders, parenting classes, community resources to provide after-school programs for children than we will continue down this path. So, he continues to attempt to demonize my community, but I know I have true love for my people. And, I have the compassion to understand the issues they face and passion to make a difference.

Obama 'Won't Back Off One Bit' on His Tough-Love Message
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July 13, 2008 9:43 AM

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., says that he won’t back down on his “tough love” message to African Americans -– a subject that prompted Jesse Jackson's angry open-mic gaffe this past week.

Obama told reporters aboard his plane to San Diego that Americans need to recognize that there is a problem when more than a half of African American children are growing up without a father in the house.

“That is a problem and I won’t back up one bit in asserting that that’s a problem that we have to be honest about," he said.

Obama’s tough love message to African American fathers came most notably in a Fathers Day speech last month in which he told fathers that “any ol' fool” could conceive a child –- but it takes a man to be father.

Many, including Jesse Jackson, took issue with the speech, and the manner in which Obama spoke to his audience. This week, Jackson sparked a controversy when Fox News Channel released a video in which Jackson was caught with a hot mic saying that Obama was “talking down to black people.”

Obama confirmed that Jackson’s feelings were well known to him before the tape was released –- communicated to him from Jackson himself.

“I had spoken to him before, a few days before what he said was released," Obama said, "and we had actually discussed some of the concerns he had raised about my fatherhood speech.”

Obama said that he told Jackson be believes that there are structural inequalities in the country that have to be dealt with.

“My argument is simply that it’s not an 'either-or' proposition, it’s a 'both-and' proposition," Obama said. "The government and society as a whole has an obligation to deal with poverty, particularly poverty that’s deep-rooted not just in the inner cities, but in rural communities all across America.”

Obama said his conversation with Jackson was not met with a lot of open resistance on the other end of the phone.

“In my conversation, I think it would be hard for him to disagree with that since many of the things I have said are the things that he has said in the past,” Obama said.

The presumptive Democratic nominee has since accepted Jackson’s apology for his remarks, but confirmed they have not spoken since the controversial tapes of Jackson were released.

Ronnie,

You know the answer to this question. And, this is the issue at hand and why folks are calling Obama on the carpet. He using this tactic to validate his own Whiteness. Yes, this might be a problem, but it's a problem facing all communities. We just happened to have more people in poverty, which pushes our numbers higher. Also, we have now heard this myth of the missing Black father for over a quarter of a century or more. One night I literally counted how many of my chilhood friends lacked a father in the home. Guess how many?
I only had two close friends with missing fathers. The majority had fathers in the home. The small few who lacked a father in the home knew their father and had a relationship with him. I am now 40, so I decided to look at my nephew and nieces friends. The majority of their friends had a father in the home or had a relationship with their fafher.

That is so true. Money and power will make some folks say some crazy things. And, Jesse Jr. looked foolish. I might disagree with my mother or father, but I am not going stand in front of the entire world and diss my parent. Just not. My love for my parent overrides anything else. I hate to say this, but if it was not for Jesse Sr. than Jessie Jr. would not be in the place he stands today. I would kill to have the name of Jessie Jackson Jr. and the opportunities this guy has enjoyed because of his father's work.

Obama mentioned numbers, and also pointed to the serious problems, repercussions, and results from such…like – “that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and TWENTY times more likely to end up in prison.” (BOLD added)

Let's be clear. Poverty is mean and vicious. Having a father in the home is not the be all and end all solution. It takes more than just having a father in the home if he is unemployed, undereducated, and lacks real opportunity. That is the issue at hand. People continue to throw these stats out, which don't mean anything at this point. We knew over forty years ago that this country was moving into this direction. And, when Barack starts using these stats and presenting his situtation as similiar to Black children in the inner city--it's a joke. First, his mother had a support system. She had two White parents. Secondly, he grew up fairly middle-class and seemed to lacked for very little. Check out his schooling in Hiawai. He lived in a insulated bubble, and I am not sure how much understanding and compassion he has for the situation. He can chant I was a community organizer, but I have met several shrewd and self-centered organizers (White and Black) in Chicago. These folks are in the game for themselves and could careless about anyone else. I am not sure where Obama fits in, but my gut is telling me to be aware.

I noticed the stats someone put on this board, but we have failed to recognize a few issues:
1) How accurate are the stats when in the sixties if an unwed girl got pregnant it was kept a secret and the child was adopted. I would be really interested to find out how many white children lived in orphanages during the sixties. I am sure if the truth was told that number would be higher.
2) Just because you have a father in the home is not a guarantee that you have a positive environment. We all know that spousal abuse is at a all-time high.
3) All of the numbers are unacceptable when it comes to children born out of wedlock or without a father. Remove the percentages and give me actual numbers.
4) And, how does Mr. Obama really believe his speech that their is only one America and not a red and blue, when he chooses to give speeches that he is pointing that finger at one specific group when it's an American issue?

I clearly understand the point that many folks are attempting to make about this situtation. I noticed a few months ago that the Black community was being used almost an upgraded version of Willie Horton by a Black candidate. Barack choose to slam the Black community through the use of the Black church. And, so many of you are contradicting yourself. If Barack is running to be POTUS than deal with issues globally,. Lack of poor parenting skills and absentee parents has been a national issue. It's just not a Black issue. Have we forgotten about Columbine and other shootings that have occurred in predominately White communities? I could list a ton of stories that reflect poor parenting and lack of support in the home for children. But, he choose to reinforce a stereotype because it's easy, and he can gain points from prejudice White folks. I see the man as just a normal politician and nothing special. FISA should bring this home. Wait until he decides to bring Hillary on the ticket. Those two are spending way too much time together way too early for it not to mean she is the choice for VP. And, I agree totally with Jessie about this pandering. It needs to stop. I just hope Black folks will make their voices heard loud and clear telling him to stop using us in an effort to gain White acceptance. Find a new and creative way. If he is able to achieve that accomplishment than I will truly believe he is "brilliant." At this point, I am shaking my head in disbelief and thrown away my Obama sticker because he is not about change.