UGH. It happened again.
Last week, President Obama delivered an address about personal responsibility to a room full of "an audience of several thousand people, most of them black, clad in tuxedos and ball gowns, who had gathered in a ballroom of the Hilton New York to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People" or the NAACP, according to the New York Times.
President Obama's "wanted to send a message to black parents, and especially to black children." His speech warned "black parents that they must accept their own responsibilities by 'putting away the Xbox and putting [their] kids to bed at a reasonable hour,' and telling black children that growing up poor is no reason to get bad grades."
Now, why in the heck did he waste his speech at the NAACP talking about personal responsibility?
1. We've heard this speech before.
2. Would he have given this message to the Daughters of the American Revolution National Convention? My guess is 'no'. Why would he do it here? It will be extremely easy for [insert powerful, ignorant white person] to point to this speech and say "Well, President Obama knows black people would be better off if they just worked harder, so what is wrong with my [racist] views?" I'm not opposed to criticism of the black community, but is it documented anywhere that people of color are actually lazier than white people?
3. That dinner, which was attended by black people in tuxes and ball gowns, probably cost a thousand dollars a plate. Those people must have some responsibility if they can amass that amount of money.
This lets-send-a-message-in-the-wrong-package stuff is getting old.
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The NAACP is a great forum to reach black people of all socio-economic stations at once since it is so well covered by all media - mainstream and ethnic. Also, the consumer of the message CAN see the results of heeding the message by looking around the audience. The audience can wildly applaud the message to give it more gravitas.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that his message would not have the impact upon his intended audience if he gave it at a DAR convention...
Well true about the DAR and the applause by black people, the impact of which I had not thought about.
ReplyDeleteHere is my question: If Obama REALLY wants this message out there, why doesn't he do PSAs on BET or get Sean Combs to do a line of tshirts that say "Read a Book"?
AND if Obama is really committed to not have red states and blue states but a United States, then why is he not talking to ALL groups about personal responsibility and uplift?