Media Putting Too Much Lipstick on that Pig

Black Press International.com , Commentary, By William Reed Posted: Nov 30, 2008

“Barack Obama’s campaign and election has spawned a new racial narrative in America. Take note that the new storyline is trickery designed to distort realities of the nation’s racial landscape.

Through Obama, blacks have a sense of inclusion in America. But, beyond the euphoria of the moment we need to access the realities and understand that Obama is just another black face on the same old white system.

Will it be status quo in America or something new? Major media now proclaims “Obama’s election has produced a post-racial America”. Media companies with dismal records of racial inclusion among their own ranks have the guile to declare “all things are equal” and proclaim the US “a ‘race-neutral’ society.”

Mark it media “make-believe.” None other than Fox News “called out” Ralph Nader when he said of Obama: “He is our first African-American president…But his choice, basically, is whether he’s going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations.” Nader actually accused the Republican and Democratic parties of being too tightly aligned with corporate interests, but media mischievously labeled it: “Ralph Nader Ends Campaign in Disgrace, Calling Obama an Uncle Tom.”

With al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri as its foil, his comments to Obama in his “On the Parting of Bush and the Arrival of Obama” were fashioned by America’s establishment media to be “he used a racial epithet” and that he “described the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites.” Al-Zawahri criticized Obama's foreign policy positions on Afghanistan and Israel and ridiculed his worldview saying Obama had the “same criminal American mentality towards the world and Muslims” as his predecessors. He said Obama was the "direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X and “in you, and Colin Powell, Rice, and your likes, the words of Malcolm X concerning ‘House Negroes’ are confirmed.”

The post-racial media, and their adherents “took offense” for Obama. Mychal Massie, director of Project 21, a black conservative network, took to the microphone to say: “While no fan of Barack Obama…I find this terrorist’s remarks…to be highly offensive”. Another black said, “Let's see how he feels about that ‘house negro’ when the ‘house negro’ drops a precision munition into his living room.”

People such as Mr. Massie willingly perpetuate American establishment’s flawed premise; insisting that the gap in wealth, income, health care and education is due to an inherent culture of victimization and that “If people of color only worked harder, they’d be fine.” That’s the plot mainstream media, Massie and their ilk would like to promote. But, how can we be in an idyllic post-racial America when nearly 40 percent of black children under 5 live at or below the poverty line? Or, when the gaps in wealth, income, education and health care have widened over the last eight years? In 2006, 20.3 percent of blacks were not covered by health insurance, compared to only 10.8 percent of whites. In 2007, the unemployment rate for blacks was twice that for whites.

While we rightfully revel in the historical significance of Barack Obama’s election, the real racial narrative is that while some things have changed, for the majority of African Americans nothing has changed. The media can call those who speak ill of the American Establishment “pariahs”, but be leery of the establishment’s post-election pabulum and presentations that now “all now equal”. A change at the top does not always lead to changes at the bottom. Put simply, putting lipstick on a pig does not make it a lady. Blacks would be foolish to confuse this moment with their overall movement.

“Our union can be perfected,” Obama told the multitude gathered in Grant Park. “What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.” Barack’s words toward more achievements “tomorrow” are good, but only he can illustrate how his being at the top will be any different from Condi and Colin in helping all of us get there from where we are now.

Related Articles:

Forget MySpace, MyBO is the Social Network of the Future

Poll: Latino Voters Expect Great Things from Obama

Civil Rights Leaders Address Hate Crime Spike


Page 1 of 1

Printable Version Return to Normal Version Send Page to Friend Subscribe to NAM Newsletters