At the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Senator Barack Obama said, “There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America — there is the United States of America.”
Those were welcome and commendable words. Unfortunately, they appear to be only words. Since then, President Obama has divided America along race and class lines more than any modern president.
Some of his strongest, high-profile supporters in the black community are now saying that President Obama’s race, alone, should be enough for black voters to vote for his re-election.
Krissah Thompson of The Washington Post reports that on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,” which has an estimated 8 million radio listeners, Mr Joyner, who is black, said, “Stick together, black people.” The show reaches one in four African-American adults.
Mr Joyner went even further on his blog: “Let’s not deal with the facts right now,” he said. “Let’s deal with just our blackness and pride — and loyalty. We have the chance to re-elect the first African-American president, and that’s what we ought to be doing. And I’m not afraid or ashamed to say that as black people, we should do it because he’s a black man.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, who also has a radio show, admonished blacks who have been critical of the president, “I’m not telling you to shut up. I’m telling you: Don’t make some of us have to speak up.”
In the same week the memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. was dedicated in Washington, Messrs. Joyner and Sharpton are saying that Barack Obama should be judged not on the content of his character and policies but rather on the colour of his skin.
If a black president cannot be held accountable for his policies and must receive the votes of African-Americans solely because of his race, then all of the marching for equal rights has been for nothing.
Obama must not play the race card; it would be the worst thing not only for his reelection campaign but also for the country. The man who was elected on a promise of unity — neither black nor white nor red nor blue — can’t now play the race card. Any of his supporters who play that hand will be doing a disservice to themselves and to the nation.
