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Michelle Obama: CBC Speech, But Was She Missing Something?

September 25, 2012 by  
Filed under News, Opinion, Politics, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) First lady Michelle Obama, the wonderful, elegant and intelligent woman that I want my daughters to become, gave a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus convention this past week. I’d left the event before seeing Mrs. Obama give her address, but I was quite curious about her remarks. Just like everyone else, I think that Michelle Obama is amazing, and my greatest fantasy is to one day see her run for the office that is now being occupied by her husband. A woman should be allowed to lead our country, and Michelle is second-to-none.

During the speech, Mrs. Obama argued that voting rights are the new sit-ins. According to the first lady, the struggles of the civil rights movement have been replaced by the fight to get a chance to go to the polls and cast your ballot.

“We cannot let anyone discourage us from casting our ballots. We cannot let anyone make us feel unwelcome in the voting booth. It is up to us to make sure that in every election, every voice is heard and every vote is counted,” Obama said in Saturday remarks.

Using language to reference the civil rights struggle of the 1960s, Mrs. Obama further explained the importance of fighting against new voter id laws.

This is the march of our time — marching door to door, registering people to vote. Marching everyone you know to the polls every single election,” the first lady said. “This is the sit-in of our day — sitting in a phone bank, sitting in your living room, calling everyone you know — your friends, your neighbors, that nephew you haven’t seen in a while, that classmate you haven’t spoken to  in years —making sure they all know how to register, where to vote — every year, in every election.”

It’s about doing everything we can to carry on the legacy that is our inheritance not just as African Americans, but as Americans — as citizens of the greatest country on Earth,” Michelle Obama said.

Not that I would be one to disagree with royalty, but I have to openly ask: Would the Obamas be speaking so readily about voting rights if they didn’t expect all of the people in the audience to vote Democratic? I find it interesting and ironic that the same administration that barely uttered the words “poor” or “black” over the last three years are suddenly trying to dig Dr. King out of the ground to use him for a stage prop.

What is also interesting is that when I see the Obamas address other constituencies, I notice that African Americans are the only ones asked to provide labor necessary to fulfill administrative objectives: “March door-to-door,” “take off your bedroom slippers,” “stop complaining,” “get to work.” I’d be just giddy to see anyone who can provide speech text that shows the Obamas speaking to gay, Hispanic or women’s groups in the same way.

I was confronted on the street at the CBC by a man who seemed to believe that I don’t like President Obama. He seemed to feel that by asking the president to speak on the matters of unemployment inequality, mass incarceration and youth violence, I am somehow disturbing a busy man doing an important job. I had to tell the guy (who leaned toward me as if he wanted to fight) that I consider those dying kids in Chicago, DC and other urban areas to be just as important as beautiful little Sasha and Malia. I also tried to help the man understand that the most you owe any politician is your vote. After that, you are supposed to tell him what you want in exchange, similar to an employer who pays you and then tells you to do your job. Even the Obamas would understand that assessment.

The man also asked me if I agreed with WEB Dubois, who actually said that he would not vote, primarily because neither the Democratic nor Republican Party speaks to the issues that affect African Americans. I didn’t hear hardly anything about minorities or the poor at the recent Democratic National Convention, even though they fully expect the black community to line up like little soldiers and give their support without expecting any form of reciprocity.

When the man asked me if I felt that everyone should vote, I said, “Yes, everyone should vote. But they do not have to vote for a Democrat or Republican.” The man then told me that by supporting a third party candidate, I was wasting my vote. I said, “Actually, you’re wasting your vote if you elect a politician and don’t ask for anything in return.” After that, I really think the dude wanted to knock me out.

So, while I hate being the one throwing a wet blanket on the Juneteenth of the 21st century, I’d like to correct the first lady on behalf of all of the dead kids in her home town of Chicago. The sit-ins of the 20th century don’t just consist of having the right to keep the Obamas and their Harvard cronies in power, that’s a personal choice. The sit-ins should include the fight to get politicians to acknowledge the growing wealth gap between blacks and whites without simply telling black folks that it’s due to their laziness and lack of qualification.

The new sit-ins should include rallies held when the Obamas come to Chicago for a fancy wedding (as they did for Valerie Jarrett’s daughter) without saying a word about the dozens of black children who were murdered right down the street from their house. The new sit-ins must include speaking up about how black families have been mutilated by the war on drugs and mass incarceration, as little girls pray for their fathers to come home after being given 150 years in prison for drug distribution.

So, Mrs. President, I humbly say this: If you and Barack want people to march for you, you must also be willing to march for them. Fighting for the black right to vote and fighting for nothing else is little more than thinly-veiled elitist pandering that ignores the real issues being faced by black Americans all over the country. It says that you care more about hanging out at charity events with Jay-Z and Beyonce than doing the work of the people. So, the next time you’re on TV teaching Dr. Oz how to do the Dougie, I hope and pray that you will teach him about how the teenager who created the Dougie song was murdered on his grandmother’s porch.

I love First Lady Michelle Obama and I almost lost my job over her. When Bill O’reilly joked about lynching her during the 2008 campaign, I had a head-to-head confrontation with both O’reilly and my university superiors, who wanted me fired over my controversial remarks. But my love for the first lady also means that I have an obligation to tell the truth, and unfortunately, the truth has now become the enemy.

Let’s hope that the Obamas get it right during the second term. Most importantly, we must all get it right and help the Obamas do their jobs by standing up for what matters to us. Having the right to vote is not the only thing we should be fighting for. We should also be fighting for the right to have a VOICE.

Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
 
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.
 
 

Comments

6 Responses to “Michelle Obama: CBC Speech, But Was She Missing Something?”
  1. Nicholas says:

    Dr.Watkins, to complain without action is like screaming into the wind. That’s my assessment of what this article is about. You stated, advising about the vote saying “you are supposed to tell him what you want in exchange, similar to an employer who pays you and then tells you to do your job.” You complain bout children being murdered in the neighborhoods, and fathers getting 150 years for drug distrobution, knowing full well that these things are local matters and should be addressed by Police and local authorities. Then you close by saying. “But my love for the first lady also means that I have an obligation to tell the truth, and unfortunately, the truth has now become the enemy.”
    Sounds like something an enemy would say. Where is the truth you speak of?

  2. wake up people says:

    OH, here’s a true story to uplift people. The Romneys gave away their entire inheritance because they believe what is a proven fact, 95 percent of your life is settled for you if you’re an American. Now as to the 5 percent, Romney will protect opportunity for people to create their own wealth “The American Dream” which has lifted more people out of poverty in the history of mankind.

  3. wake up people says:

    Obama has created $1.1 trillion in debt each year of his presidency which will be passed along to our children and grandchildren. Obama is the only U.S. President that has never balanced a budget. Obamacare is the largest tax hike on the middle class. Terrorists attacked the U.S. Embassy in Libya killing 4 Americans including the Ambassador on 9/11 and Obama apologizes for free speech and still attends a fundraiser the same day.

    Obama says the biggest mistake of his presidency was thinking it was just about getting the policy right but he now realizes that it is more about telling a story to uplift people. This maybe why Michelle tells the CBC that the house the Obamas live in was partially built by slaves instead of using this platform to speak out against the nation’s highest high school drop out rate and murders that have plaqued the homes of Chicago’s poor children for far too long.

    WTF, unemployment is above 8 percent and who the heck knows what the real unemployment is, more Americans are on food stamps, GDP is trending downward, Americans are more divided since President Obama took office and he finally admits that he is not a leader. As Karl Rove stated, Obama’s biggest opponent is the truth.

  4. jimbob says:

    I for one don’t trust a lperson that lies. Nor do I trust someone who is afraid to show his college papers, records and how he got to go to such fine colleges and at who’s expense as a foreign student. How he went to Pakistan during the early 80’s when it was banned, if you lived here. So who’s passport did he use? He will be sadly missed in January of 2013 when he is sent packing.

  5. Iris says:

    @ Wake up people,

    Tell me, how are the Obamas blocking positive change in this country? Also after we send them back to “Chi-Town” then what? And how is Mitt Romney going to bring positive change in this country?

  6. wake up people says:

    The Obamas’ time has come to pass. Let’s send them back to Chi-Town cause they’re blocking positive change.

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