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Opinion Africa and Obama ‘On the Move’ “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ernie F oster Founder/Publisher B oBBie D ore F oster Executive Editor J erry F oster Advertising Manager C hristen M C C urDy News Editor P atriCia i rvin Graphic Designer a rashi y oung D onovan M. s Mith Reporters M oniCa J. F oster Seattle Office Coordinator J ulie K eeFe s usan F rieD Photographers 2015 MERIT AWARDS WINNER The Skanner has received 20 NNPA awards since 1998 The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 E-mail: info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicit- ed. © 2015 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE- SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To view The Skanner website on your mobile device, scan this QR code • Local news • Opinions • Jobs, Bids • Sports • Entertainment • Music reviews • Bulletin board • RSS feeds S ome people are now saying what was really obvious to me before President Barack H. Obama was re-elected to con- tinue leading the United States of America: he is a Black man. He is an African man. As the first Afri- can American to be the president, the unprecedented hostility and threats against the President have been, in too many instances, ra- cially motivated as well as based on partisan politics. Yet President Obama continues to be strategic about how he rep- resents his race, genealogy and his commitment to promote and sustain African freedom and em- powerment. Yes, he is the President of all the people in the U.S. That is not the issue. We are not debating or taking exception to the fact that President Obama represents all the people of the U.S. I believe that his historic trip to Kenya and to Ethiopia is in- dicative of Obama’s distinctive characteristic of taking strategic moves that go far beyond the tra- ditional limitations of American politics and global outreach. This was the fourth trip of the presi- dent to Africa. As the first sitting American president to visit Kenya and Ethiopia, his timing could not have come at a better time. I guess Donald Trump and other so-called Birthers will once again raise politically-divisive questions about whether President Obama is a real citizen of the United Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. NNPA President and CEO States. But like the other divisive issues that Trump and others are now raising about the “browning of America,” those stiff-neck far right leaders really miss the point. Like China, the United States should see that its place in the achieve in Africa was about trade, economic development, invest- ments, innovation, geopolitical politics, security and the funda- mental promotion of African uni- ty and socioeconomic progress. He rendered a keynote speech to the Global Entrepreneur Summit in Nairobi. In fact, going forward there are economic development opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the U.S. to develop joint ventures with African entre- preneurs. President Obama strongly af- firmed at the summit that, “Afri- ca is on the move.” Referring to entrepreneurial projects that were There are economic development opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the U.S. to develop joint ventures with African entrepreneurs global market place will be in- creasingly and inextricably linked to having a productive relation- ship with Africa. Yes, it was good for President Obama to first re- unite with his close relatives in Kenya. The pictures of President Obama hugging his Kenyan sister, Auma Obama, and other relatives in the capital city of Nairobi were very inspiring and affirming of strong family values in Africa and in America. In truth, however, President Obama’s major objective to now being owned and led by wom- en in Kenya and in other nations in Africa, Obama took note and was supportive. He said, “It’s the spark of prosperity. It helps people stand up for their rights and push back against corruption….. means ownership and self-determination, an opportunity to not simply be dependent on somebody else for your livelihood.” No sitting American president has ever attended or addressed the African Union (AU) while it was in official session in the capi- tal city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Ethiopia has the second-largest population in Africa, behind only Nigeria. The economy in Ethiopia is growing and the African nation owns and operates one of the larg- est airline services on the conti- nent. President Obama’s speech to the AU was well received by the African heads of state who attend- ed the meeting. The theme of Af- rican unity and mutual economic cooperation was a priority issue at the AU. Lastly, I detected a renewed sense of African pride that was exemplified by the statements and actions of President Obama’s latest trip to Africa. I think that African Americans, in particu- lar, should also strive to establish more effective unity and coopera- tive business development in our communities throughout the U.S. Owning our own businesses in America in the past was a source of pride and self-empowerment. When Obama was introduced at the summit in Kenya, he stated, “Obviously, this is very personal for me. There’s a reason why my name’s Barack Hussein Obama.” He is proud of his name and his Kenyan ancestry. Auma Obama also said that her father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., would be very moved to witness his son return to Kenya as the president of the United States. She stated, “He’d be extremely proud and say, ‘Well done.” For Centuries, Black Lives Did Not Matter I t ought to be unnecessary for an activist movement to hinge on the principle of the equiv- alency of life. In the worlds of Democratic presidential candi- dates (don’t get me started on the Republicans), there is a compel- ling need to point out that Black Lives Matter and White lives mat- ter. The problem with stating the ob- vious is that White lives have al- ways mattered, and institutional racism has structured a lesser val- ue for Black lives. Asserting that “Black Lives Matter” is rebutting the inherent supposition that Black lives do not matter. Black lives have been devalued since the development of our Constitution when it counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person. . We still live with the legacy of enslavement, when Black folks were other people’s property. Black folks aren’t property now (unless they are the much-exploit- ed convict laborers), but unequal treatment is not just historical – it still happens. That’s why the Black Lives Matter movement is so important. The Black Lives Matter Move- ment was a constructive out- growth of the Trayvon Martin murder, furthered by the protests that happened in the wake of a Missouri grand jury’s failure to bring charges against Darren Wil- son, the murderer of 18-year-old Michael Brown. As multiracial crowds proclaimed, “Black Lives Page 2 July 29, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Julianne Malveaux NNPA Columnist Matter,” it seemed that, across the board, people were acknowledg- ing the existence of institutional racism. Too bad Democratic presidential contenders can’t do the same. Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders, the two candidates whose entries into the race may have pushed Hilary Clinton to the left, faced protestors at the progressive Netroots Nation conference earli- er this month. spared embarrassment if she em- ulated O’Malley’s and Sanders’ stance. To clean up their acts, all of the candidates need to listen to leaders of the Black Lives Matter Move- ment instead of talking at people the way politicians are most likely to do. If they listen, they might hear the frustration that young folks feel when the police stop them for simply walking while Black. They might hear the despair some will share when, even while fully pre- pared, they find few opportunities for employment, and too many doors slammed in their faces. In the wake of Michael Brown’s killing, Ferguson elected two new Black members for the city coun- cil. Now, Andre Anderson, an Af- rican-American man from Glen- dale, Arizona, has been appointed Blacks have a different reality than Whites do, and it shows up in terms of economic, educational, and social indicators Instead of acknowledging the le- gitimacy of the Black Lives Mat- ter movement, both candidates were prickly. Sanders threatened to leave the stage because the pro- tester’s chants drowned him out. Candidate Hilary Clinton was not present, and some objected to that, but she either missed the opportunity to engage — or was interim police chief. Ferguson is under pressure to do better. What about the rest of our country? If Michael Brown’s killing was the impetus for Ferguson voters to go to the polls, that’s a good thing, though it shouldn’t take that. If the Black Lives Matter Movement does the same thing nationally, the Democratic nominee has a better chance of winning in November 2016. If the Black Lives Matter movement is not treated respect- fully, it is likely that many voters will stay home. The video showing the brutali- ty involved in the vicious arrest of Sandra Bland, the Prairie View A&M University alumnae who died in jail earlier this month, makes it clear that the Black Lives Matter movement is much need- ed. Their pressure to stop police brutality has pushed police de- partments to use video cameras, and made it possible for us to see the repugnant behavior of State Trooper Brian T. Encinia, who roughed up Sandra Bland because she would not put out her cigarette after being pulled over or failure to signal a lane change. Don’t tell me that White lives matter. That’s not new infor- mation. Whose faces are on our money? Whose statues grace leg- islative buildings? Who leads the overwhelming majority of For- tune 500 companies? Who domi- nates our legislative bodies? Our African-American president, sup- posedly the most powerful per- son in the world, is ill-treated by Congress, often for racial reasons. We live in a racist and patriarchal society where the value of Black life is too-often diminished. That’s why, Martin O’Malley, there is a special need to assert that Black Lives Matter. Those who would be president ought to embrace that concept, in- stead of denying it.
