Jones 1 Essays - Americas, United States, Politics, Afro-Cuban, Cuba

Jones 1 Stone Jones African American Studies 3420 Professor Dr. Ollie Johnson Ph. D April 27, 2017 1) Frederick Harris states that "black vote rs put aside policy demands for the prize of electing one of their own to the White House" (p. 169) and implies that President Obama should be more responsive to the black policy agenda. Discuss whether President Obama should have been more responsive to black substantive concerns. What role do black voters and black leaders play in Harris' analysis of the Obama presidency? Preside nt Barack Obama impacted the lives of all African Americans, whether he got their vote or not. During his time in office for both terms, he disappointed the black community on a rainbow of levels. He promised to better the lives of Blacks, but evidently when it came to matters for us, we always came last to him. The president gave more attention to issues that benefitted all races, and people , as a whole, never putting the African American struggle as a priority at all. Blacks were just so happy to see a one of own become president, that we neglected to check his background to assure that he's the right candidate to carry out our wishes. Although he tried his best to accommodate the needs of the black communities, he failed ua in many ways as well. African Americans let ourselves down by putting all of our trust into someone that had not had our best interest at hand in the first place. We have definitely suffered and paid the price Jones 2 of the ticket in our own ways. However, our country was already in shambles when he took office, making his tasks extra complex to handle. Obama concentrated more on fixing the racial divide in America instead of pushing for equality that was rightfully ours to begin with. He constantly talked about his trials coming up, and how he was affected by discrimination all too often. Barack Obama did what any politician would do to gain a seat in office, and that was to falsify promises and to gain the trust of the voters. His ability to persuade us into believing he would be the best candidate for us was nothing shorter than the biggest let-down in history. When it came to racial matters, he'd always vaguely speak on them and often seemed as if he swept them under the rug. Most times he proclaimed racial equality to be first on his list to deal with, but clearly it was one he was brushing off. Obama talked about himself being black always put him at a disadvantage, but he never used his blackness to make proud moves for us. Most of his term in office was dedicated to defying what his colleagues thought of him and not smooth over issues that still haunt us after his run in the White House. Race wars had been taking place long before he took office, but they were magnified with the countless numbers of police beatings. This country faced turmoil when an outbreak of police brutality came about and law enforcement became the ones under tons of scrutiny. These matters were never addressed with the impression that our president cared, it's like he showed compassion only on camera. Barack Obama always challenged all Americans to confront the racial divide. He approached issues of race and racial injustice with his own personal experiences and thoughts. Anytime the president spoke about race, it was evident that you could feel the triumphs and pain he endured from childhood, throughout the many accomplishments he struggled to achieve. Obama treats race and racial injustice like the undeniable epidemic that it is. He only made it a Jones 3 priority to speak upon in the speech he delivered on March 18, 2008 in Philadelphia. I truly believe that it was one of the most heartfelt and influential speeches ever given. Barack Obama strived for Americans to grasp equal rights and justice by challenging them together. Like many of the people that fought for our rights in the civil rights era, Obama had the same beliefs that we could erase the racial gap by simply having the same train