This piece was flawless. Unlike you, I am much, much older. The first person I voted for was Jimmy Carter when he ran the second time. At that time, the thought of a Black man being president was nothing I could ever have imagined.
Yet, here’s what few of any us want to just feel in our bones. Obama or any other black person is stuck with being president for everyone; and EVERYONE is not a person of color. There are those everyones who expect to hang onto their privileges while they delude themselves into believing that they are fair minded enough to everyone else they believe should have equal rights as if they alone can grant those equal rights.
Sidebar: White liberals are just as full of shit as Whites on the Right. Any Black president elected by any of them will remain, in part, beholden to them. That Black president will be pilloried as not having done enough for anyone, always. He/She will do their bidding or get his/her brains blown out or have their reputations destroyed via falsehoods which is much easier now because of the internet which did not exist when I started voting for the first time.
All of those white folks protesting on “No Kings Day” protested because the chickens have come to roost at their door, not ours. And they know it.
Great piece! I was raised on coloring between the lines (but better than everyone else) if you will, and I too have been disappointed with what I thought would happen as a result.
Beautifully articulated.More importantly, it is in fact time to wake up, to be very clear on what is happening, and to gather our courage, to figure out what we are going to do.
I respect and admire President Obama but his "looking forward, not looking backward” stuff on Bush’s war and on Wall Street was exactly the wrong approach in 2009 and will be even worse when Tubby goes because Tubby’s crimes are bigger.
This is the best soothing piece I have read in the last few years. So soothing. Thank you.
Yes. We don't need nostalgic rhetoric. We assumed that just because Obama became the president was enough. We didn't think about after Obama.
We were living in the dream came true era and then ended. And the truth is, Obama was never supposed to free us. His job was to steady the ship—not to steer it somewhere new. He knew that much, we didn't know any better.
Obama gave us the myth that if we simply refined ourselves enough, made ourselves small and smart and smooth, we might be accepted. But That was not enough.
We cannot build tomorrow with yesterday’s imagination. That's so true.
We need to dream beyond borders.
We were told that Barack Obama was a once-in-a-generation leader. What if we experience Obama 2?
You say, “We are not waiting for the next Obama. We are writing the next chapter without him.” But I say, “Without him is not possible. I want him to step out of his shell and myth and walk with us radically, unapologetically, boldly, unpolished, and raw.”
You say, “We need a politic rooted in collective care, not charismatic individualism.” Yes, every individual is diverse within the collective culture.
What we need is us —- unapologetic, unbought, unbossed, unbowed.
Thank you so much. Wow, finally. When I tell you how I was literally dragged for sharing these insights about Obama many years ago. I was not speaking negatively about him. I was simply revealing how Barack Obama is a form of anesthesia, psychological relief for America. The "Good Black Man" archetype. Idealistic, composed, always rational, never angered.
That was appetizing, inspiring, and delicious for some. Black men can actually be a human being.
While it was suffocating for others.
It also was in conflict with the radical lineage of Black resistance.
The "CHANGE" messaging during that Obama era offered a hope merchant that he could make America great again, but in a different way than the current administration.
Either way, this idealistic form of a savior or hero created a complex that many grew a chronic dependence on for their psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
The American people had portraits and images of Barack Obama in their homes and sacred spaces as if this was the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Still do.
But these are the conversations that we are intently afraid to talk about publicly. Thanks for publishing this.
"The "CHANGE" messaging during that Obama era offered a hope merchant that he could make America great again, but in a different way than the current administration." -YES!!!!!!
This was succor, spiritual conviction and mellifluous: I needed this, a vivisection of how many of us (still) return to the “Obama Years" as a balm for the awfulness of now. I don't demur to any of your points, all solidly built, alternately plangent and muscular in creating a path forward.
There is a sorrow in what was missed; what we failed to divine during that time; why what happened, happened. The wings of wax melted: here you have issued a full accounting. I don't disagree with the strong pull of nostalgia; however, I believe it is the light of decency, intellectual curiousity and emotional ballast that distinguishes Barack Obama as a leader with political conscience as well as consciousness.
Like you, I am not cynical but ready for a deeper walk, one that welcomes everyone, affirming and elevating a global community beginning with our respective localities.
Thank you for this homily on forced perspective, feet of clay and casting our own light that only you could have written.
You just gained a new follower! This sentiment has been sitting with me, too, so seeing this really made me feel like I've been tapping into something bigger than just my individual awareness. Your right in saying we need new tables altogether, and we need new architects to build the foundation of the table so that the public can effectively come and sit at it. I will for sure be exploring this architecture in my work moving forward.
This was even more beautiful than I anticipated. Your words are magic. They're healing, inspiring, life-giving. They feel like coming home and imagining something new all at the same time. Thank you for all the thought, research, creativity, and love you put into this essay 💗
In a time when I feel nostalgic for the Obama years, I realized, as I read your piece, that indeed it is only the symbolism of the Obama years that I miss more than the actual administration (though between W and 47, I have to admit that it was a welcome contrast). The Baldwin quote hit the nail on the head. This time, we can’t move forward without dealing with what we have overlooked in the shadows.
As a white person who feels ashamed I thank you for this insight. I will spread the message as farcand wide as I can. Thank you for opening my heart and mind even more. Onward!
Understood. I am in awe that Black people haven’t burned the country to the ground. But they know. That’s what the white supremacist want. It’s how they’ve survived. King knew it. Malcolm X came to it. And now they are trying again. Don’t give them the excuse they want.
This is so spot on, and something I’ve felt for years. Obama was more conservative than Nixon in many ways. I blame it on his Ivy League education, where the distance from “real people” begins. Once you start hob-nobbing with the rich and powerful, it’s hard to remember where you came from. Power is corrupting. Harvard Law is a breeding ground for politicians and the alumni networks that can generate enough money to fund campaigns. Staying in power requires more fundraising, which in turn requires the appeasement of the rich and their interests.
This piece was flawless. Unlike you, I am much, much older. The first person I voted for was Jimmy Carter when he ran the second time. At that time, the thought of a Black man being president was nothing I could ever have imagined.
Yet, here’s what few of any us want to just feel in our bones. Obama or any other black person is stuck with being president for everyone; and EVERYONE is not a person of color. There are those everyones who expect to hang onto their privileges while they delude themselves into believing that they are fair minded enough to everyone else they believe should have equal rights as if they alone can grant those equal rights.
Sidebar: White liberals are just as full of shit as Whites on the Right. Any Black president elected by any of them will remain, in part, beholden to them. That Black president will be pilloried as not having done enough for anyone, always. He/She will do their bidding or get his/her brains blown out or have their reputations destroyed via falsehoods which is much easier now because of the internet which did not exist when I started voting for the first time.
All of those white folks protesting on “No Kings Day” protested because the chickens have come to roost at their door, not ours. And they know it.
Great piece! I was raised on coloring between the lines (but better than everyone else) if you will, and I too have been disappointed with what I thought would happen as a result.
Beautifully articulated.More importantly, it is in fact time to wake up, to be very clear on what is happening, and to gather our courage, to figure out what we are going to do.
I respect and admire President Obama but his "looking forward, not looking backward” stuff on Bush’s war and on Wall Street was exactly the wrong approach in 2009 and will be even worse when Tubby goes because Tubby’s crimes are bigger.
This is the best soothing piece I have read in the last few years. So soothing. Thank you.
Yes. We don't need nostalgic rhetoric. We assumed that just because Obama became the president was enough. We didn't think about after Obama.
We were living in the dream came true era and then ended. And the truth is, Obama was never supposed to free us. His job was to steady the ship—not to steer it somewhere new. He knew that much, we didn't know any better.
Obama gave us the myth that if we simply refined ourselves enough, made ourselves small and smart and smooth, we might be accepted. But That was not enough.
We cannot build tomorrow with yesterday’s imagination. That's so true.
We need to dream beyond borders.
We were told that Barack Obama was a once-in-a-generation leader. What if we experience Obama 2?
You say, “We are not waiting for the next Obama. We are writing the next chapter without him.” But I say, “Without him is not possible. I want him to step out of his shell and myth and walk with us radically, unapologetically, boldly, unpolished, and raw.”
You say, “We need a politic rooted in collective care, not charismatic individualism.” Yes, every individual is diverse within the collective culture.
What we need is us —- unapologetic, unbought, unbossed, unbowed.
Thank you so much. Wow, finally. When I tell you how I was literally dragged for sharing these insights about Obama many years ago. I was not speaking negatively about him. I was simply revealing how Barack Obama is a form of anesthesia, psychological relief for America. The "Good Black Man" archetype. Idealistic, composed, always rational, never angered.
That was appetizing, inspiring, and delicious for some. Black men can actually be a human being.
While it was suffocating for others.
It also was in conflict with the radical lineage of Black resistance.
The "CHANGE" messaging during that Obama era offered a hope merchant that he could make America great again, but in a different way than the current administration.
Either way, this idealistic form of a savior or hero created a complex that many grew a chronic dependence on for their psychological, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
The American people had portraits and images of Barack Obama in their homes and sacred spaces as if this was the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Still do.
But these are the conversations that we are intently afraid to talk about publicly. Thanks for publishing this.
Appreciate this comment!!!
"The "CHANGE" messaging during that Obama era offered a hope merchant that he could make America great again, but in a different way than the current administration." -YES!!!!!!
This was succor, spiritual conviction and mellifluous: I needed this, a vivisection of how many of us (still) return to the “Obama Years" as a balm for the awfulness of now. I don't demur to any of your points, all solidly built, alternately plangent and muscular in creating a path forward.
There is a sorrow in what was missed; what we failed to divine during that time; why what happened, happened. The wings of wax melted: here you have issued a full accounting. I don't disagree with the strong pull of nostalgia; however, I believe it is the light of decency, intellectual curiousity and emotional ballast that distinguishes Barack Obama as a leader with political conscience as well as consciousness.
Like you, I am not cynical but ready for a deeper walk, one that welcomes everyone, affirming and elevating a global community beginning with our respective localities.
Thank you for this homily on forced perspective, feet of clay and casting our own light that only you could have written.
You just gained a new follower! This sentiment has been sitting with me, too, so seeing this really made me feel like I've been tapping into something bigger than just my individual awareness. Your right in saying we need new tables altogether, and we need new architects to build the foundation of the table so that the public can effectively come and sit at it. I will for sure be exploring this architecture in my work moving forward.
Oooooooooo I can already tell this is gonna be good!! Saving to come back to tonight when I can get cozy and really engage with it.
This was even more beautiful than I anticipated. Your words are magic. They're healing, inspiring, life-giving. They feel like coming home and imagining something new all at the same time. Thank you for all the thought, research, creativity, and love you put into this essay 💗
In a time when I feel nostalgic for the Obama years, I realized, as I read your piece, that indeed it is only the symbolism of the Obama years that I miss more than the actual administration (though between W and 47, I have to admit that it was a welcome contrast). The Baldwin quote hit the nail on the head. This time, we can’t move forward without dealing with what we have overlooked in the shadows.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽💯💯💯💯💯💯💯❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
This entire piece. Thanks for bending my brain—didn’t know how much I needed to read this. Sharing it far and wide.
We never did.
As a white person who feels ashamed I thank you for this insight. I will spread the message as farcand wide as I can. Thank you for opening my heart and mind even more. Onward!
Understood. I am in awe that Black people haven’t burned the country to the ground. But they know. That’s what the white supremacist want. It’s how they’ve survived. King knew it. Malcolm X came to it. And now they are trying again. Don’t give them the excuse they want.
This is so spot on, and something I’ve felt for years. Obama was more conservative than Nixon in many ways. I blame it on his Ivy League education, where the distance from “real people” begins. Once you start hob-nobbing with the rich and powerful, it’s hard to remember where you came from. Power is corrupting. Harvard Law is a breeding ground for politicians and the alumni networks that can generate enough money to fund campaigns. Staying in power requires more fundraising, which in turn requires the appeasement of the rich and their interests.