"The Politician & the Preacher"
By Mumia Abu-Jamal
Column written 15 March 2008 for Prison Radio
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The recent quasi-controversy over the comments made by the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, retired pastor of the United Church of Christ, to which Sen. Barack Obama (D.IL), both belongs and attends, has shown us how limited, and how narrow, is this new politics peddled by the freshman Senator from Chicago.
Although first popularized via the web, the Reverend's comments caused Sen. Obama to say he was "appalled" by them, and he has repudiated such remarks as "offensive."
Just what were these comments? As far as I've heard, they were that Sen. Hilary Clinton (D.NY) has had a political advantage because she's white; that she was raised in a family of means (especially when contrasted with Obama's upbringing); and she was never called a nigger.
Sounds objectively true to me.
Rev. Wright's other remarks were that the country was built on racism, is run by rich white people, and that the events of 9/11 was a direct reaction to US foreign policy.
Again -- true enough.
And while we can see how such truths might cause discomfort to American nationalists, can we not also agree that they are truths? Consider, would Sen. Clinton be where she is if she were born in a Black female body? Or if she were born to a single mother in the projects? As for the nation, it may be too simplistic to say it was built on racism, but was surely built on racial slavery, from which its wealth was built. And who runs America, if not the super rich white elites? Who doesn't know that politicians are puppets of corporate and inherited wealth?
And while Blacks of wealth and means certainly are able to exercise unprecedented influence, we would be insane to believe that they 'run' this country. Oprah, Bob Johnson and Bill Cosby are indeed wealthy; but they have influence, not power. The limits of Cosby's power was shown when he tried to purchase the TV network, NBC, years ago. His offer received a corporate smirk. And Oprah's wealth, while remarkable, pales in comparison to the holdings of men like Bill Gates, or Warren Buffet.
Would George W. Bush be president today if he were named Jorje Guillermo Arbusto, and Mexican-American? (Not unless Jorje, Sr. was a multimillionaire!)
In his ambition to become America's first Black president, Obama is in a race to prove how Black he isn't; even to denouncing a man he has considered his mentor.
As one who has experienced the Black church from the inside, politics and social commentary are rarely far from the pulpit. The Rev. Dr. Martin L. King spoke of politics, war, racism, economics, and social justice all across America. His fair-weather friends betrayed him, and the press condemned his remarks as "inappropriate", "unpatriotic", and "controversial."
Rev. Dr. King said the US was "the greatest purveyor of violence" on earth, and that the Vietnam War was illegitimate and unjust. Would Sen. Obama be denouncing these words, as the white press, and many civil rights figures did, in 1967? Are they "inflammatory?"
Only to politics based on white, corporate comfort uber alles (above all)" only to a politics that ignores Black pain, and distorts Black history; only to a politics pitched more to the status quo, than to real change.
Politics is ultimately about more than winning elections; it's about principles; it's about being true to one's self, and honoring one's ancestors; it's about speaking truth to power.
It can't just be about change, because every change ain't for the better!
Comments
I don't know about everyone else, but since Obama came onto the scene, all my hardcore leftist friends have changed. My activist-que-viva-che-guevara
-say-no-to-TV friends are now kicking back watching CNN, and waking up early on the weekends to check out Meet the Press. Worst of all, I found myself doing those things too. I even started to like Anderson Cooper--forgot that he shared the same television network that airs Lou Dobbs' racist rants. Luckily, I caught myself and asked, "Is this the "change" they've been talking about? Cause if it is, I'm not digging it."
But it was inevitable: For the first time a Black man wasn't completely turned away from White politics the way Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were during my childhood, so I jumped into the Obama hype too.
It was until a few weeks of politico-rehab (when I turned off my TV) that I came back to my senses. Now, I didn't do it just because of my leftists roots, but because I did some research (No funding needed)that brought me back to my initial thoughts on government. Check it out: I asked my mom, dad, cousins, tias, tios, abuelita, my bro and my sis , "If you could have anyone be President of this country who would it be?" I didn't mention Clinton or Obama--gave them no choices. Just asked that question. All of them, even my slightly more conservative grandmother, chose someone outside of politics--from Tupac to the lady down the street who chases gangmembers away with her broom.
On that thought, I return to something Mumia hinted in this piece--Barack is not just running against Hillary, but he's also running against a system--a system that is corporate, white, and that rejects the histories of oppressed peoples.
Folks, we can't fix the system from the inside! We've been trying to do that for the past few years. It doesn't work. The system IS the problem.
So what now? Put all of our hope and dissent in the hands of one man? That's dangerous to the longevity of our resistance. Dangerous to the progression of this country.
So I've asked my friends to turn off CNN for a bit and hang out with ME (not with Anderson Cooper) so we can step back from all the hype, and really look at the small print of this election. It seems the poetics of Obama have led many of my friends to forget what country and system we're dealing with.
Another thing to consider is what to do when these speeches of hope and justice run along side commercials for laundry detergent or a Mercedes Benz? (Doesn't it creep you out a bit?)
Or what happens when my friends, or your friends or your lovers trade in their Zapata Buttons for an Obama button? (My girl did that, for real!). OR even worse, what happens when a button on a shirt is as far as our friends will go to really change things?
We need to work towards something else. And maybe this is a step. But we can't get sucked in this, and put our guards down. We can't let our radical thoughts get filtered by this political system (that's what they did with Obama and Rev. Wright).
So I ask myself the same question I asked my family members: If I could have anyone be President of this country who would it be? Like my uncles, aunts, and bro, I still long for a country that can be led by hundreds of women that chase gangmembers down the street with their brooms, and street poets that can battle with rhymes and words and not bombs or guns--real agents of change outside the political system.
Posted by: Miguel Jimenez | April 1, 2008 09:41 AM