When my father, the Reverend Dr. Miles Mark Fisher obtained his PhD in 1948 from the University of Chicago still in the pulpit at Durham, NC’s White Rock Baptist Church, he was the first in the 1918 Morehouse College class to be awarded such. And though people are upset with what Jeremiah Wright said in his church, I chuckled knowing that many haven’t been to a black church for our preachers will say whatever they like and our congregations keep them for a myriad of reasons. I can hear my father saying in the late 50’s what could be considered controversial things from the pulpit, e.g. black folks don’t know what integration is all about for when it occurs it will be the black schools that are closed, the black principals and teachers who will be displaced and the black kids likely ill served. Hmmm. . . .
That man was as black as the Ace of Spades and would turn a deep purple like many Africans when he was angry. He’d say from the pulpit don’t use black as an excuse for “It’s a given as black as I am that I am not going to be anything else.” Then he’d tell us being black in America means you have to be twice as good to get half as far. We were told that we were the envoys for our communities and must never forget who you are and what we stand for, for we were being watched and all others would be judged by the actions of those who were first in the door. He’d accept no excuses from us for failing or not giving it our best.
In August 2011 Maxine Water’s comments about the failure the president and her disappointment in him. --“We don’t put pressure on the president,” “Let me tell you why. We don‘t put pressure on the president because ya’ll love the president. . . . You’re very proud…to have a black man [in the White House] …First time in the history of the United States of America. If we go after the president too hard, you’re going after us.” She then told the fired-up crowd that voters must “unleash” the Democrats on Obama (some obliged) before criticizing him for not visiting any “black community” during his bus tour: . . . “. . .The Congressional Black Caucus loves the president too. We‘re supportive of the president but we’re getting tired ya’ll . . . We want to give him every opportunity…but our people are hurting. The unemployment is unconscionable. We don’t know what the strategy is. We don‘t know why on this trip that he’s in the United States now, he’s not in any black community…we don’t know that.” [The Blaze 8/17/2011]
When unemployment is 7.8% for the nation, but twice that in the black community or high school drop out rates in urban areas for blacks hitting 50% or poverty rates for single mothers astronomical or the median income for black houses below $6000 per annum, allowing a man to remain in office simply because he is black is not enough. That no black female had a seat on the Supreme Court when two vacancies were available though blacks gave Obama 96% of their votes was a slap in the face. The regional minority offices of the small business administration which are designated for economic assistance to our communities were closed on his watch. The list of negatives expands.
Eric Michael Dyson, a Georgetown Sociology Professor says the Obama debate failure was because he didn’t want to unleash the “Angry Black Man” people expect of us. Give me a break.
You learn in life to get it right the first time for you may not get a do-over. When you fail you have to accept it without always blaming another. And at the end of the day you have to ask yourself if this is about me or a greater good.
So yesterday I wrote the FBI to intercede because of racist emails and perceived threats with which I openly took issue in that Romney was called the ‘etch a sketch’ candidate and Obama the “Supper Ubber N- - - - - -.” Not tolerating such got me designated a “fake Republican B- - - - - fat N- - - - - -,” etc. It is clear that we are not a post racial society and for many not much has changed. It is not Barack Obama’s burden to change that; but we can still grow as a nation not only the economy but ourselves while we ‘Believe in America’ and give it our best shot.
