"Public intellectual Cornel West tore into many of this week’s speeches surrounding the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech, accusing everyone from President Obama to Rev. Al Sharpton of “sanitizing” Dr. King’s vision.
“Brother Martin himself, I think, would’ve been turning over in his grave,” West said of the event. “[King would have wanted] people to talk about Wall Street criminality, he wants people to talk about war crimes, or drones dropping bombs on innocent people,” he asserted.
“Instead,” he lamented, “we saw the coronation of the bonafide house negro of the Barack Obama plantation, our dear brother Al Sharpton.” West went further declaring that Sharpton’s decline was “supported by [MSNBC analyst] Michael Dyson and others who’ve prostituted themselves in a very ugly and vicious way.”
West and Tavis Smiley both lamented that black leadership has become “so sold-out” so as not to have the courage to be a “bull in the china shop,” break rank, and talk about “racism, poverty, and militarism” at an otherwise “bought-out” event." [Source]
Now I understand some of frustration that Brother West is feeling. We do need to be talking more about things such as "racism, poverty, and militarism". But what country does Cornel West believe that he is living in? Negroes getting upset because Barack Obama didn't get into the White House and go all Huey P. Newton are as crazy as the republicans who foam at the mouth over the sound of his name. Just what the hell did you expect?
Let me repeat this again: Barack Obama is a politician, and he happens to be a damn good one. Politicians know how to raise money, run the government, and push all the right buttons to make Americans feel like their country is the greatest in the history of the world. That's it. The fact that this president happens to be black should be celebrated for its imagery and what it can mean for the future aspirations of young black boys watching him, but that's about it.
It's not going to change how business is done in this country and who gets the spoils.
If you Negroes want things to change, stop depending on poli-trick-sters like Barack Obama and start grass roots efforts to change things in your own neighborhoods. Start organizing locally to try and better the lives of people around you. Change is not going to come from Washington; it's going to come from your homes.
Again, I am not sure what some of you Negroes were expecting, but I have news for you; it's not going to get any better for your agenda when Barack Obama leaves and when the next presidents come after him. Americans don't want to talk about things like "racism" and "poverty", and when they do, it makes them very uncomfortable. Look what happened when this president tried to address the elephant in the room. "If I had a son he would look like Trayvon".
Anyway, Barack Obama does need to have real folks in his ears-- besides his wife Michelle--- from time to time. It's just that when Negroes like Tavis and Cornel do the criticizing, it comes off more like sour grapes than constructive criticism and speaking truth to power.
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