Please let’s don’t get distracted. We are one family from John Connelly & Juan Williams to Jeremiah Wright & Louis Farrakhan. We are not and never have been a monolith but we have been taken for granted, tend to respond emotionally, are very sensitive, and easily disappointed.
Some of us would like to move beyond race and focus on the vast opportunities before us. Others cling tenaciously to the identity and culture that we have woven into a beautiful quilt out of the meager scraps that we were left to work with. It is not in the interest of either end of the spectrum to fuel the undermining of the Black church. It is a fact that but for hope we would not be here . We should take this opportunity to bridge the many divides that separate us one from another and we must never forget how we made it this far as we are once again reminded how far we have to go. Let's keep our eyes on the prize.
by ZZ Packer , Huffington Post - So, forty-three white male presidents to date, and Geraldine Ferraro says Obama's gotten where he is because he's black?
If you've been following the latest statement by Geraldine Ferraro in which she said "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," you might also be operating under the assumption that our last 43 presidents have been black, or that blacks overwhelmingly make up the bulk of Fortune 500 CEOs, or for that matter, the majority of Andover kids whining about the lack of locales for spring break or the cast of The OC.
Just at the beginning of his campaign it seemed like an absolute long shot because of his race. Now, having overcome all this and other these obstacles--including the ones that contribute to high percentages of black men who are jobless, in prison, or dead by the age of 25--he is where he is because of race?
The horrible double standard is obvious. According to those of Ferraro's ilk: if you're a poor black man, or incarcerated, or jobless or homeless, you are where you are because of your own ineptitude and should take responsibility for your actions. However, if you've excelled at one of the top schools in the nation, then later on became a star attorney and later become a senator who inspires millions, then you're only there in spite of your ineptitude and you really shouldn't take responsibility for it. Talk about movin' on up. Read the full article
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