Many Blacks may choose to squelch criticisms of President Obama because they are still in the throes of race pride as seen here exhibited by Zeboraqh Ball-Paul as she reacts to the news of his election in Grant Park in Chicago, Nov. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)African Americans have given President Obama a racial pass – that’s something on which his Black supporters and opponents agree.
That uncomfortable truth, however, seems to be creating an increasingly persistent itch within the Black community, especially in light of the disproportionate growth of joblessness that plague their neighborhoods and the president’s unwillingness to consider targeted policies to ameliorate that chronic unemployment.
“I can’t pass laws that say I’m just helping Black folks. I’m the president of the United States,” the president said in a Dec. 21 interview with American Urban Radio Networks. “What I can do is make sure that I am passing laws that help all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable and most in need. That in turn is going to help lift up the African-American community.”
But that so-called philosophy of “a rising tide lifts all boats” continues to stick in the craw of many, including Black Capitol Hill lawmakers, who met with the president last week to discuss jobs.
That stance sparked on-air fisticuffs between the Rev. Al Sharpton and talk show host Tavis Smiley, who seemed to question the president’s responsiveness to the “Black agenda” and accused Black leaders – including Sharpton – who met with the president last month to talk about jobs of being Obama’s “chorus.” Sharpton had said in post-meeting comments to The New York Times that the president was “smart not to ballyhoo a Black agenda.”
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