November 26, 2008
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We All Need To Help Obama Keep His Promise
Now is not the
time for
complacency
by
M arc M orial
There may be a tendency
to see the election of Barack
Obama as the 44th President
of the United States as a magic
bullet that will instantly solve all
our problems.
Some commentators have even
suggested that an Obama presi
dency ushers in a new "post-
racial" era that lowers the urgency
and takes the spotlight off the
need for equal opportunity and
economic justice for urban and
African Americans. 1 strongly
disagree. This may be a time for
celebration, but it's no time for
complacency.
»
While it is true that
for the first time in a
long tim e, A frican
Americans and other
minoritiescanfeel like
we have a real friend
in the White House,
we must also under
stand that President-elect Obama
can only be effective if the same
extraordinary coalition of white,
black, Hispanic, Asian-American,
and Native American voters that
elected him, now works together
to support his agenda for change.
In my view, the Obama presi
dency marks the beginning of a
new "multi-racial" era in Ameri
can governance that empowers
and employs more of the growing
President-elect Obama can only
be effective if the same
extraordinary coalition o f white,
black, Hispanic, Asian-American,
and Native American voters that
elected him, now works together to
support his agenda for change.
diversity that is A m erica's great
strength in solving our common
problems.
The thing that impressed me the
most about the Obama campaign
was its ability to bring so many
heretofore disparate parts of
America together in common pur
pose. Candidate Obama liked to
say that this election was not so
much about him as it was about us.
He stre sse d th a t ch ange
comes from the bottom up, not
the other way around. That means
that we as citizens and advocates
must take an even more active
Equal Justice Gets Closer
JtiixìE G reg M athis
If his nomination is
confirmed by the Senate,
attorney Eric Holder will
become this country’s
first African-American
Attorney General.
Nominated by Presi
dent-elect Barack Obama, Holder
is the most qualified person for
the job. Though the appointment
is not yet official, Holder’s back
ground and commitment to fair
ness promise a march toward
by
equality in this nation’s
legal system.
Holders resume is im
pressive. He has served
as both a judge and U.S.
Attorney in W ashing
ton, D.C. He was ap
pointed by President Bill
Clinton to the position of Deputy
Attorney General in 1997.
During his career. Holder has
worked to fight corruption in poli
tics and prosecuted several high-
profile political leaders. He has
Liked by both Democrats and
Republicans, Holder has the rela
tionships and reputation to work
for positive legal change.
This change will surely trickle
down to the black community. A
Scapegoating the Black Community
Here we go again
by
J ohn P ayton
A frican A merican voters
constitute only 6 percent of the
California electorate. Yet, we
hear that Proposition 8 in Cali
fornia, the ballot initiative that
overturned the decision of the
California Supreme Court that
marriage was a funda
mental right that ex
tended to all couples,
straight or gay, suc
ceeded because o f
Black voters.
There are reports,
based on exit polling,
that some 70 percent
of the African American voters in Califor
nia supported Proposition 8, compared
with much lower numbers for white voters
or Asian voters or Latino voters.
But here’s the thing: Proposition 8
passed by a margin that exceeded any
impact traceable to African American vot
ers. If the exit polling data is correct - and
there are conflicting reports that put the
number of African-Americans who sup
ported Proposition 8 at closer to 57 per
cent — then a majority of the African-
American community supported Proposi
tion 8.
Nevertheless, given their limited elec
toral impact in California, scapegoating
the Black community for its passage de
flects attention away from other actors
and away from the underlying issues that
are a cause forconcem for all Californians,
not just those who are for or against same-
sex marriage.
The N AACP Legal Defense Fund
urged the California Supreme Court
to do what it ultimately did - find that
marriage is a fundamental right avail
able to all people. We did that be
cause we are very sensitive to fun
damental rights and believe that you
? The loss o f a fundamental right
is not a black issue or a gay or
lesbian issue. It is an issue fo r
everyone.
cannot say that some people have them
and others do not.
We have filed a new writ to the court
making the argument that the California
Constitution requires more than a simple
majority vote to strip away a fundamental
right from a minority group.
The loss of a fundamental right is not a
black issue or a gay or lesbian issue. It is
an issue for everyone. When one group is
threatened with the loss of a fundamental
right, we are all threatened by that poten
tial loss.
A couple of months ago, there was a
parade of stories about how the collapse
of the U .S. financial system was caused by
the irresponsible actions of black people
who bought homes beyond their means
and whose default on the mortgages they
ployment rate that's double that
of whites, and wide academic
achievement gaps. Our prisons
are disproportionately populated
by African American males. Taken
together, these facts underscore
the reality that the first black presi
dent does not mean we can now
all close up shop and go home.
People like you and organiza
tions like the National Urban
League are more important than
ever to lifting upour communities
and moving thiscountry forward.
In just a few weeks, we will
have a new president who cam
paigned on the promise of change.
It is now up to us to help him keep
that promise.
M arc M orial is p resident and
c h ie f executive officer o f the N a
tional Urban League.
Attorney General pick is impressive
% Holder has the relationships
and reputation to work for
positive legal change.
spoken out against the cruel treat
ment of detainees atGuantanomo
Bay and has criticized the Bush
administration for the civil-liber
ties policies it introduced after
the Sept. 11,2001 terrorist attacks.
role in governance at all levels.
Our voices must continue to
be heard from City Hall to the halls
of Congress to the White House.
I am encouraged that the Obama
transition team is putting a high
degree of emphasis on building,
as Bill Clinton did, an administra
tion that "looks like America."
But looks are not enough. We still
have a lot of work to do.
On the one hand we now have
the ultimate successful role model
in Barack Obama. On the other
hand, we see that fewer than 50
percent of African Americans
graduate from high schools in
many major American cities.
We see a financial crisis with
huge numbers of African Ameri
cans losing their homes, jobs and
life savings. We see an unem-
used to buy those.homes had resulted in
the financial meltdown. This came from
conservative columnists and news out
lets and was quickly embraced by some
conservative members of Congress.
Never mind that the actual numbers of
African Americans who in fact had these
“toxic" mortgages was quite small relative
to the overall number of those mortgages.
And never mind that many of these mort-
— gage borrowers were themselves vic
tims of predatory lending practices on
the part of some of the country ’ s most
prominent banks and financial institu
tions.
Simply stated, the idea that the U.S.
financial system - indeed the world
financial system - could be brought
down by the poorest sector of the
American population was preposterous.
In the current financial crisis, it should
now be clear to virtually everyone that the
cause of this was in the financial institu
tions themselves and in the failure of any
governmental institution to conduct over
sight.
In the case of Proposition 8, it should be
clear that the reason it passed is not be
cause African American voted for it, but
that California voters voted for it.
It also should be clear that this
measure’s passage is not just a loss for
those who support same-sex marriage, but
for all who cherish fundamental human
rights.
à
John Payton is president a n d director-
counsel o f the N A A C P Legal D efense and
Education Fund.
long-time mentor of black youth.
Holder has worked to instill val
ues and to provide a positive role
model for at-risk youth.
He understands firsthand the
negative impact the black pris
oner crisis has had on our com
munities. He knows that police
misconduct in communities of
color is real. And he realizes that,
even in an era when a black man
could and would become presi
dent, the ci vil rights of many black
and Latinos are still being vio-
lated.
This insight will prove invalu
able when the Justice Department
is forced to tackle these issues
head on. Holder won’t be operat
ing from a position driven by
rhetoric; instead, his decisions
will be driven by first-hand expe
rience and a desire to make a
change.
Judge Greg M athis is vice presi
dent o f Rainbow PUSH and a board
m em ber o f the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
Public Works is What Works
Business.
Corporate executives are now
joining labor leaders, mayors, and
other progressives who see the
urgent need to invest in and re
by J im H ightower
Here's an idea: Instead of wast build America, creating new infra
ing our tax money on Wall Street structure and new middle-class
slicks who don't use it to help opportunities all across our land.
President Bush and his laissez-
anyone but themselves, why don't
faire
ideologues oppose this.
we use our public funds to build
They
assert
that such a bold na
something in America?
Like what? Like bridges that tional undertaking would take too
are in disrepair, schools and li long to help with the current fi
braries that need upgrades and nancial collapse. Hello, George -
expansion, high-speed rail net state and city transportation offi
c ia ls say they
works to connect
America has
could have 3,000
our population
h ig h w a y
centers, energy important work
projects and $8
saving technolo
billion worth of
gies for every that needs to be
m ass
tra n s it
home and build done. America also
p ro je c ts u n der
ing, public trans
has millions o f
way in less than
portation for all
90 days. Let's get
o f o u r c itie s , workers who need
the m oney to
state-of-the-art good jobs.
them!
Internet systems
This is not a time for more ideo
everywhere, and public park re
logical claptrap from right-wing
pairs and expansions.
America has important work theorists. It's a time to restore
that needs to be done. America America's can-do sp irit turning
also has millions of workers who our grassroots people loose to
need good jobs. Let's combine build.
This should not wait until Janu
the two so we can lift our country
ary. Congress should come to
up and move forward together.
"There is no better time than gether now, this month, and be
today" to launch a major public gin to move money where it'll do
some real good for everyone in
works program.
That's not a quote from some America.
Jim H ightow er is a national
lefty do-gooder, but from the head
colum
nist.
of the National Association of
Build something
and create jobs
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