| Support for Senator Barack Obama continues to soar as he traveled to Selma, AL to give the keynote speech commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement's historic Selma to Montgomery March. Increasingly, Barack is being treated like a rock star by a frenzied media that is seeking him out like Paparazzi. Initially, support for Barack in the African American community was lukewarm. Many were questioning who is this Black man with such a funny sounding name? Some suggested that he was not a "legitimate" African American because his daddy was African (from Kenya), his mom was a White American, he was born in Hawaii and raised in part in Indonesia. Professor Earl Ofari Hutchinson of UC Berkeley, wrote an op/ed piece where he dismissed these concerns noting that historically one ounce of blood rendered one an African American; and that there were many other African American presidential candidates who had one or more parents born out of the United States, such as Shirley Chisholm, and that nobody questioned her racial background. Fox News picked up on some of these questions and pushed the sleaze button to the "Swift Boat" level noting that Obama's dad was a Muslim who gave Barack the middle name of "Hussein" and suggested that Obama was actually trained as an Islamic Fundamentalist! Rush Limbaugh added to the sleaze factor and innuendo by referring to the Senator using the name "Osama Obama" as if it were some type of Freudian slip. A recent editorial in the Capital Times responded to all of this foolishness noting: "Fox's ugly efforts to slander Obama, which parallel those of another Bush/RNC mouthpiece radio personality Rush Limbaugh, are reprehensible. And it is certainly reasonable to ask whether the obsessive focus on Obama has something to do with his race. After all, Fox has not been above playing the race card when it is to the advantage of the administration and the party it serves." Senator Obama, to his credit, has kept his campaign and demeanor above the fray not allowing himself to stoop to such low levels. While speaking in church and marching across the Edmund Pettis Bridge, Obama made it clear to all who were present that he is indeed one of us.' He proudly stated "I am the fruits of your labor -- the offspring of the Civil Rights Movement." Representative John Lewis, a major living icon of the Movement who sat next to Obama in church, said, with tears welling up in his eyes, "If someone would have told me back then that today we would have an African American and female candidate vying with each other to be President I'd say you were crazy." Ever watchful of Obama's rise in the media, and even more so in the voting polls, Senator Hillary Clinton knew that it was time for her to take action, make the trip to Selma and go to church. In a move that clearly demonstrated how important the African American base is to her campaign, and by extension, to the Democratic Party, Hillary brought her big gun to Selma -- President Bill Clinton with her for the first time in the 2008 Campaign. "Slick Willie," as he is sometimes called, literally stole the show by upstaging both Hillary and Barack. Within most quarters in the African American community, President Clinton continues to be revered with the "honorary African American status" bestowed upon when writer Toni Morrison dubbed him "our nation's first African American President." To her credit, Hillary Clinton also gave homage to the movement on behalf of Barack and herself acknowledging that without the Movement, the Voting Rights Act, etc., she too would not be standing where she is today. Make no mistake about it, Hillary knew it was time "to go to church" because Barack's support in the African American community was growing fast. A Washington Post/ABC Polls taken in December/January gave Hillary a 60% to 20% lead in prospective votes in the Black community. As of last week, that lead has diminished to 44% to 33%. Like many, I too am very excited and hopeful about Senator Barack Obama's run for the 2008 Presidential campaign. What will happen next? Many questions loom -- Can Barack continue to build sustainable excitement in the African American community that will translate to support and VOTES for his campaign? Will Obama be one of the first African American candidates who can be successful in transcending the racial divide and get support -- money and votes from White and other non-Black supporters? What will happen if the Democratic race comes down to Barack vs. Hillary? Can an African American male defeat a White female candidate who is the wife of a former President? Can Barack win in a square off with whoever is the Republican opponent? How much of a reaction will Obama get from the far right? How well will he be able to handle it? Interesting questions indeed ... stay tuned. |
| The Literary Divide/Dr. Paul Barrows On the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama Obamania reaches new heights |
 |
 |