This piece republished courtesy of TheLoop21.com for which Goff is a political writer.
Years ago, before I reached adulthood, I watched a scene on one of my favorite shows, Law & Order, in which a black attorney says the following to his white former supervisor: "You once asked me if I was a black lawyer, or a lawyer who's black. I used to think I was the latter. Now I know I'm the former." I didn't fully appreciate the meaning of that scene as an adolescent, but as an adult I certainly do. I was reminded of this recently when it was revealed that the Congressional Black Caucus is on the verge of declaring ideological war on the White House, to convey its displeasure at what it views as the president's snubbing of the caucus, specifically its legislative wish list in his first year in office.
The Congressional Black Caucus appears to have decided that President Obama, in the words of the Law & Order attorney, is "the former," not the latter: a black president, or more specifically the first president of Black America. The only problem for them is, unlike the attorney in question, President Obama has made no such declaration.
Actor Bill Cosby once said that, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." So I guess the good news for Obama is that he is certainly not pleasing everybody at the moment. And based on the present media coverage I'm wondering if he is pleasing anybody at all -- besides maybe Bo, the first dog. Liberals are unhappy that he's not liberal enough. Conservatives are unhappy that he's not conservative enough. Gay Americans are unhappy that he's not gay friendly enough. I suppose it was only a matter of time before some high profile black Americans joined the fray, by reviving -- albeit subtly -- one of the silliest attacks of the 2008 election, that President Obama, racially, politically and ideologically speaking, has not proven himself sufficiently "black enough."
Let me say that I have tremendous respect for various members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the political activism of many of whom made it possible for me to enjoy the opportunities I do today. But the list of grievances they appear to have with the White House makes it clear that their perspectives on race and politics may still be stuck back in the era in which the group was first founded -- the 1960's. The gripes are comprised primarily of minor ego bruises as opposed to life threatening legislative wounds: i.e., they feel the president was disrespectful by waiting two months (two whole months!) to invite them to their first White House Meeting; Congresswoman Maxine Waters wants more Census advertising steered towards church newsletters and Congressman John Conyers feels the president has generally not been attentive to the needs of black Americans.
As Charles Blow reminds us in his New York Times column, "Black in the Age of Obama," many African-Americans are suffering greatly in the current economic climate.
But so are many white Americans. I guess this is where I become slightly confused by the CBC's criticism. See, I was under the impression that health care reform was slated to benefit all Americans, not just non-black Americans. And I assumed that the stimulus was steered to communities nationwide, thereby benefiting Americans of a variety of races, not just one or two in particular. But most of all I presumed that President Obama campaigned to become President of the United States of America, not the United States of Black America. But again, perhaps I am confused.
During a panel discussion of President Obama's first 100 days Dr. Ron Walters, a veteran of Rev. Jesse Jackson's presidential bids, made what I consider one of the most astute assessments of the president's political responsibility to Black Americans. (I'm paraphrasing.) He said that Obama has special responsibility to black people because they represent his most devoted voting bloc, the same way any politician has a special responsibility to his/her most loyal voting bloc, whether it is comprised of union voters or evangelicals. I agree with this analysis -- to a degree. The problem of course is that once you become president you become the president for all Americans, not just the ones who voted for you.
President Obama may be the first black president, but he is not the President of Black America. He is a president for America -- in all its many colors, racially and politically speaking. Therefore the Congressional Black Caucus should applaud the fact that the White House is treating them no different than their peers. After all, isn't that the type of equality they have worked so hard for our country to achieve?