Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts

Friday, October 08, 2010

cornel west and prophetic christianity

Here is a new interview with Cornel West from the newly reorganized Jesus Radicals site. In the hour-long interview with Eliacin Rosario-Cruz and Mark Van Steenwyk, West discusses a wide-range of topics including his recent disinvitation from this years Christian Community Development Association conference in Chicago due to an interview he gave to Playboy magazine, the ways in which Latin America challenges the Washington consensus, Puerto Rican independence leaders, how to chant down Babylon, how so many Caribbean activists joined the Black freedom struggle in the U.S., the Tea Party, some fierce but loving criticisms of Obama's presidency, but mostly he talks about how prophetic Christianity (and as an afterthought Judaism and Islam etc.) can constitute a counter-hegemonic force, voice and vision to challenge the American Imperial moment.


Some excerpts from the Playboy interview:

On President Obama’s shortcomings: "While he’s made some good, positive changes, I don’t think he’s a messiah or even a very progressive politician...It’s already getting late for him, when you have a chance to speak to jobs, homes, infrastructure and you end up bailing out investment bankers. They’re too big to fail? They’re too big to be managed! And what do you do? You allow them to get bigger! So you’ve got the same conditions in place that will reproduce the same catastrophe from which we’re still cleaning up from the Bush years. And you don’t speak to jobs, you don’t speak to homes, and again the poor remain invisible."

On President Obama’s inability to push a strong black agenda: "I wish [President Obama] could be more Martin Luther King-like. Set an agenda that at root is a black agenda, and it would also be the best agenda for the nation and the world. King did that. His concern for civil rights was also the best agenda for the country...By necessity, Obama has had to downplay his blackness to appease the white moderates and independents and speak to their anxieties. He knows black folk will support him anyway, so he doesn’t need to spend too much time on the chocolate side of town."

On Michelle Obama: "Somebody of her brilliance, somebody of her vision, somebody of her courage confined to keeping gardens at the White House, reaching out to military families, highlighting childhood obesity. I think she could be a great force for change if she could only set herself free. She can’t though. Black sister exercising her power, willing to take a stand, would be too much of a threat."

On corporate greed and "gangsterism": "Humans have always had the propensity to be gangsters...but for much of the past century you had sanctions in place. You had regulation. You had a stronger trade union movement. You had some balance between the rich and the poor. More of the wealth was distributed to working people. But what is it now? CEOs in the 1950s made around $25 to every $1 for an average worker. Now it’s about $275 to every $1, and the CEOs say, ‘No, we deserve it. We’re working harder.’ That’s a lie. They’re getting away with more by holding on to a larger percentage of the profits...When you read the business pages in the past three years, it’s just gangster activity, people getting away with anything they can—looting the Treasury, billions of dollars made on speculation. Those people knew it was wrong, but it was short-term gain, scandal, preoccupation with the 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not get caught. The result is, we’re feeling the aftershocks of moral bankruptcy, and it’s going to hurt us for a long time."

On the Tea Party movement: "The Tea Party might look a mile wide on Fox News, but it’s only a few inches deep...Tea Party folk are not crazy people. They’re just misguided. They’re deeply conservative people who see the corruption of government. They’re right about that. But they react by being antigovernment. They’re wrong about that. They see the need for individual initiative and entrepreneurial possibility. They’re right about that. But then they affirm a corporate agenda and don’t realize corporations are a big part of the problem...They’re much weaker than people like Glenn Beck think they are. But I’ll fight for the right of Glenn Beck to express his opinion. Even he has a right to be wrong, which he is most of the time."

On Glenn Beck’s preoccupation with black people: "Glenn Beck appears to have a certain preoccupation with black folk. Why is he so obsessed with black people? I notice he doesn’t give the Amish that much attention. [laughs]"

On eliminating poverty: "Given our wealth, we could create a society with no poverty. We could do it...Brother, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to eliminate poverty. Make it a priority. You allocate assets for everyone’s basic needs—housing, food."

On acknowledging race: "Some would like to believe we live in a postracial society, but that’s completely false. You’ve got to acknowledge race. Little kids notice it from the time they’re six or seven. ‘Dang, Jamal is darker than Johnny over here. What does that mean?’ Some people will try to say, ‘It doesn’t mean anything. We’re all the same.’ That’s wrong. That’s denial. We are different because of race, and we need to learn to embrace the differences, embrace the whole person...Then again, we have to make sure our awareness of our differences doesn’t translate into a hierarchy of how you treat people."

On the dismissal of his academic career: "My academic career is dismissed by means of invisibility. And I’m not the only one. If a martian came down to America and read The New York Review of Books, it would hardly know there were any black writers. There is a de facto segregation in the life of the mind in America, and black scholars, brown scholars, black intellectuals feel it every day."

On the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church: "Anytime you have people making claims of being virtuous, you have massive hypocrisy...Don’t project purity or an image of being pristine because you end up falling on your face. Or worse, you end up projecting a face of hypocrisy, as we see with the Vatican—a gay sex scandal among the people who preach against gay marriage and other deeply important issues. Not right."

On the things our culture is yearning for: "All across this culture I see a yearning for quality relationships, a yearning for integrity, a yearning for spirituality. But people—young people in particular—are manipulated by many forces to believe that what matters in life is something else: money, materialism, short-term gain, power and the kind of show that goes along with it."

On sexuality: "Sexuality is such a precious gift, but it does take on a life of its own. I see people who fall down the path of lust, seduction and temptation, and increasingly I sense this conquest mentality in which sex becomes almost another thing to acquire. How many women can I satisfy myself with? It’s a form of pathology, and it’s a sign of our deep spiritual malnutrition."

On white fear of black sexuality: "Historically, white fear of black sexuality was always a basic component of white racism. Black bodies, white bodies bumping against one another—it’s been one of the major forms of mobilizing white citizens...Ancient associations still linger about the sheer touch of black body against white body, of being disgusting, dirty, repulsive."

Friday, September 17, 2010

one person's america-hating radical is another person's patriotic good ol' boy

Recently I was thinking about how odd it is that some folks on the right wing (e.g. Tea Partiers and the usual suspect of Fox News pundits) are so willing to show contempt and suspicion for the President, the Speaker of the House, Congress in general, various provisions of the US Constitution, basic principles of American democracy, the current policies of the government and then turn around and criticize others (usually liberals, Blacks, Latinos or Muslims) for being unAmerican. Among the most extreme we even have people like Sharron Angle suggesting the possibility of "Second Amendment remedies" to government "tyranny".

On the more apocalyptic side, during the US Presidential election we were endlessly confronted with the loop of Jeremiah Wright saying "God damn America" but most white evangelicals are willing to accept (or even celebrate as a cautionary tale) Ruth Graham's statement "if God doesn't soon bring judgment upon America, He'll have to go back and apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!” source

As a more entertaining and contemporary way to highlight this kind of right-wing hypocrisy as it relates to how we speak about 9/11, the Center for American Progress put together a Blaming-America-for-9/11-Quiz where you can try to match a set of "controversial" statements about 9/11 with the person who said them. Enjoy.

h/t to Islamicate

salaam ladies. look at your man. now back to me. now back at your man. now back to me.

I'm not trying to start rumors about his religion (or birthplace or political affiliations) but I think it is cool that the "Old Spice Guy" is named Isaiah Mustafa. Some superficial facts about him (his first name, his appearing half-naked on tv, serving and drinking liquor on the red carpet) suggest he's probably not Muslim but I'm still curious about what the story is. I'm guessing that his father or grandfather was in the Nation of Islam.

On other fronts, some writers have found interesting things to say about the "Old Spice Guy" from a racial lens:

The Root: Why the Old Spice Guy Is Good for Black America
The Daily Beast: The Post-Racial Commercial Genius

Farai Chideya especially (in the Daily Beast) does a good job of tracing how American thinking about Black male sexuality has changed from Emmett Till to Billy Dee Williams to Terry Crews (who was the "Old Spice Guy" before Mustafa) to Isaiah Mustafa.






Imdb: Isaiah Mustafa
Wikipedia: Isaiah Mustafa

Monday, September 13, 2010

um... so is newt gingrich trying to defend white imperialism?

How Obama Thinks by Dinesh D'Souza is the original piece which started this mess. In it, D'Souza, rather presumptuously tries to psychoanalyze Obama and explain his foreign and domestic policy decision in terms of the "anticolonial" (read "foreign", "unAmerican", "socialist") dreams of his father. The piece also strikes me as unnecessarily insulting in parts.

Here is the National Review piece with Newt Gingrich's comments on the issue: Gingrich: Obama’s ‘Kenyan, anti-colonial’ worldview

And here is a report from the Huffington Post: Newt Gingrich Slammed For Saying Obama May Hold 'Kenyan, Anti-Colonial' Worldview

Sunday, August 22, 2010

why they want obama to be a foreign-born muslim

An excerpt from FogCityJournal.com: Why Republicans Need Obama to be a Foreign-Born Muslim By Rachel Kiernan

What needs to be addressed is why so many in this country want to believe that Obama is a Muslim, even when they criticized Obama for following a “radical” black Christian leader. This is true in spite of the fact that Obama was raised by his Christian mother and grandparents, having barely known his father. It speaks of the very essence by those who fear an America which no longer looks like they. This manufactured phobia of all things Muslim and of all things non-white (think “white slavery” and the anti-Hispanic establishment) is a response by those who feel that they have lost control over their own lives and power to those who traditionally have been the most disenfranchised and powerless.

This goes beyond those who wish that Obama was a Muslim and a foreigner. This is a manufactured crisis by those who wish to divide the country into two camps by whipping up hysteria against Muslims, blacks, Hispanics and anyone who does not look and pray as they.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

on joe (joseph) stack

The article Terrorism: The Most Meaningless and Manipulated Word by Glenn Greenwald takes a look at the Joseph Stack incident and uses it to underline some of the hypocrisy behind how the term "terrorist" is used today (to delegitimize Muslims).

When I first read about Joseph Stack flying a plane into an Austin office building which housed the local IRS office I pretty much saw him as a Tea Party terrorist. After reading the Joseph Stack Manifesto I have to admit that he does have some left-wing elements to his "ideology" but on balance he seems more like an ordinary "Joe" who has had a series of frustrating Kafka-esque experiences with the bureaucratic IRS. At the same time,there do seem to be some tea party types embracing him as an American hero after the fact.

In any case, even if this particular incident isn't the responsibility of someone clearly in the Tea Party camp, there have certainly been other warning signs that anti-Obama conservative backlash has been becoming more and more aggressive and has the potential for moving in violent directions. (see pray for obama and the murder of george tiller)

See also: I Am Not Saying Joe Stack Is A Teabagger, But He’s A Little Teaish By Casey Gane-McCalla

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

shaykh adil kalbani: first black saudi imam of masjid al-haram

I would be really shocked if Shaykh Kalbani turned out to be the first "black" (whatever that means) Imam of Masjid Al-Haram ever. It is more believable that he is the first "black" Imam under the Saudis (since 1744) unless you go by the one drop rule. In any case, check out...

Mujahideen Ryder: The “Saudi Obama” – Shaykh Adil Kalbani, first Black Imam of Masjid al-Haram, Makkah



Thursday, July 23, 2009

Friday, June 12, 2009

heru in jamaica

Here is a roughly two hour discussion/interview/talk with Heru (whom we've talked about before) for a Jamaican TV show. Topics include: anti-black violence in Jamaican music, homosexuality in dancehall, the roots of Rastafari and Halie Selassie, the significance of Obama's election, and in general he gives a pretty good articulation of a (not "the") Pan-African outlook on politics, economics, and current events. He has a lot of positive things to say which are worth thinking about. At the same time, it was weird for me to hear his affected "Jamaican" accent. I imagine that he's either making a conscious choice to speak that way because of his involvement in dub and reggae or he's picking it up honestly because of how much time he is spending in the West Indies or with working with Caribbean people. He touches a little on his own religious beliefs but I would be really interested in hearing an indepth discussion of Ausar Auset (if that's the path he is on)

Friday, June 05, 2009

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

obama: white house correspondents; dinner





Highlights:
Rahm Emanuel isn't used to saying "Day" after "Mother"
Dick Cheney's memoirs are tentatively titled: "How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People."

and finally:
"You know, we [Hillary Clinton and I] had been rivals during the campaign, but these days we could not be closer. In fact, the second she got back from Mexico she pulled into a hug and gave me a big kiss. (Laughter.) Told me I'd better get down there myself."

Friday, April 10, 2009

obama, religion and the daily show

Faith the Nation
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
Faith the Nation
thedailyshow.com
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Economic CrisisPolitical Humor


It is intriguing to see some of the positive overtures that Obama is making towards the Muslim world. At the same time, it is also not surprising to hear that President Obama hasn't been to church in 11 Sundays. Given the amount of controversy which surrounded Obama's earlier choice of a church home it is understandable he would keep his own devotions private and under the radar.

Friday, January 02, 2009

magic negro / que sera lo que quiere obama

It is almost "funny" how much of the criticism against Obama has gotten so racialized. This racialization isn't terribly surprising, it just seems like part of a larger pattern.

Mami Que Sera Lo Que Quiere Obama?


Barack the Magic Negro



I almost wish that Chip Saltsman wins his bid to chair the Republican National Committee because judging by his Christmas album (which in addition to Barack the Magic Negro also includes such "hits" as the Star Spanglish Banner and Ivory and Ebony) because he would lead the Republican Party towards being totally irrelevant to an increasingly diverse United States.

See also:
mami el negro esta rabioso (el africano)
the magical negro
"jose can you see..."

Saturday, November 29, 2008

you can't please all the people all the time...

So Nader thinks Obama is an Uncle Tom and Al-Zawahiri thinks Obama is a House Negro (see obama, malcolm x, al-zawahiri and house negroes). Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin, of course think that Obama is a Black-Liberation-theology-believing, socialist Muslim (as if that were a bad thing).

If you want to see what some progressive African-American Muslims have to say about Obama you should definitely check out Imam Zaid Shakir's response to a well-meaning brother along with the blog entry/story African-American Muslim leaders denounce al Qaeda's slur toward Obama

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

obama: the recap

If I was President...
black presidents (part one)
black presidents (part two)
if al gore was president aka black presidents (part three)
black presidents (part four)
black presidents (part five)
black presidents (part six)
jimmy smits and the west wing



Obama and the Church
thoughts on obama's resignation from trinity united church of christ
the compassion forum
jeremiah wright and the black church
rev. 'icarus', the obama campaign, & the left
hiv/aids and the us government
rev. jeremiah wright: a change is going to come / national press club
there is nothing wrong with rev. wright
bill moyers and rev. jeremiah wright



Obama and Islam
more from zaid shakir
barak obama on the middle east
obama's islamic past
two calls for pan-africanism from the muslim world
this is what a non-muslim us presidential candidate looks like



Obama and Latinos
latinos and obama
obama and black latinos
president obama and afro-latinos



The Horserace
obama roasts mccain at the alfred e. smith dinner
some brother must have really done her wrong...
another bit
political bits
hispanic governor, bill richardson, endorses obama over clinton
morrison endorses obama for president
obama wins maine and a grammy
racism and the mcain-palin campaign



Obama and other religions
obama redraws map of religious voters
obama and different religious communities



Misc.
here's another thing i don't get...
an open letter to certain white women who are threatening to withhold support from obama in november
the dark knight: the rise of "the real" obama
obama and father's day
heru: barack obama is septimius severus
obama: the death of white supremacy?
barack's black dilemma
"well, i'm not gonna take the white house in 2008 on just my sparkling wit and funding from hostile governments."
mumbo jumbo with ishmael reed