by Prof. Boyce Watkins

Many black males continue to be insulted by Barack Obama and his speech writers relying on stereotypes rather than hard evidence in his Father’s Day Speech. Barack is a man whom I will always respect, but what he has done is unforgivable.

What’s more interesting, as Earl correctly points out, is that Barack’s father was not African American. He was a Kenyan National who wanted to leave the country. So, perhaps we should spend some time asking ourselves why we were so quick to accept this blanket indictment of black men, while allowing Obama to use his own father’s choices to provide moral authority for him to use stereotypes.

After all, the presidential candidates conveniently forget to critique White America in the same way they critique the black male. I thought Obama was 50% white? Doesn’t that mean that he is as much a part of White America (thus entitled to critique) as he is Black America? Or is he just the Black Candidate?

My urgency in supporting him is not as great as it was before. With each passing day, I become more and more confused as to whether we are putting a black man in the white house, or a man who is afraid of being associated with other black men. When it is time for him to take a stand against racism, I hear that he is “everyone’s president”, not the black candidate. But when it comes time for him to attack black men with petty stereotypes, I hear that he is a “black man” and therefore, able to engage in these sorts of attacks.

Which one is it? I grow weary of the games.

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