By D. Price
RCJ News
Op-Ed Contributor
Dr.
Cornell West’s take on President Obama’s comments following the George
Zimmerman verdict—“But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken”—have
left me stunned. Here is one of West’s comments: "We know anybody who
tries to rationalize the killing of innocent people is a criminal. George
Zimmerman is a criminal. But President Obama is a global George Zimmerman
because he tries to rationalize the killing of innocent children...”
Growing up in New Jersey and New
York, West’s name was highly regarded in my home. Primarily because of my
father, who like West, also studied theology and is a Princeton alum.
I remember Dr. West’s name coming up in several of my father’s conversations on
myriad topics ranging from politics, race and Christianity.
 | |
|
Now an adult with my own family, I’d
like to think West’s name will be highly regarded in my home; synonymous with
people like Cory Booker, Anthony Foxx and (yeah) Jay-Z. But, sadly, after
West’s recent rants, I am not hopeful the latter may be true.
West is not the only black activist
or media figure who feels President Obama’s post-verdict remarks were
insufficient in addressing the dissatisfaction Trayon Martin supporters feel.
Tavis Smiley took to Twitter stating: “Took POTUS almost a week to show up and
express mild outrage. And still, it was as weak as pre-sweetened Kool-Aid.”
Honestly, I was a bit surprised
President Obama commented at all. While I wanted him to, I understand the
compromising position in which he is often placed because of his biracial
status. Especially in this particular case, when black, white and brown faces
were involved.
So forgive me, but that is why I
assumed the “Dr. West’s” and “Tavis Smiley’s” of the world would be less
caustic in their public judgment of the president’s comments. Yes, the Trayvon
Martin verdict speaks to the serious level of racial injustice in the United
States . But, in President Obama’s defense, what everyone
must remember is that while he “could have been Trayvon Martin 35 years ago,”
there is a significant difference between he and Trayvon Martin that many
African Americans choose to ignore: President Obama’s mother.
The president has been careful about
racializing issues during his presidency, which may attribute to blacks
overlooking his biracial status. Regardless of whether he has chosen to
identify more with his black roots than his white, President Obama cannot
escape the fact that he shares a commonality with the racial majority in
America. That is why he must be extremely careful of every single thing he says.
But West seems not to be so careful.
To say that, “President Obama is a global George Zimmerman,” is offensive and
blasphemous. The word rationalize means an: Attempt
to explain or justify (one's own or another's behavior or attitude) with
logical, plausible reasons, even if these are not true. While West and others might not agree
with President Obama’s comments that the “jury has spoken…” right or wrong, the
verdict is final. The president’s statement doesn't mean he agreed with the
jury’s decision. He was simply reiterating the facts, which cannot be changed,
so now it is time for everyone to move forward.
West also said that the president is
responsible for “criminalizing” the black poor and creating the “re-niggerizing
of the black professional class.” This I find quite interesting for two
reasons: West is a member of the black professional class, and, while West does
a superb job of pinpointing all that President Obama is not doing, I have yet to see any
successful proposals or solutions of his own, such as voter registration
drives, that aim to combat the plight of Americas’ poor.
A bit softer than West, regarding
President Obama’s second public statement following the Trayvon Martin verdict,
Tavis Smiley on NBC’s Meet the Press said, “a week of protests
outside the White House, pressure building on him inside the White House,
pushed him [the president] to that podium.” Maybe it did. Either way, Smiley
later stated, “I disagree with the president, respectfully, that politicians,
[and] elected officials, can’t occupy this space on race.”
If it is in fact public knowledge
that the president would rather not use his position to discuss race and/or the
events surrounding the Trayon Martin verdict, as one could easily see how that
might become problematic, what more is there to say?
Maybe it’s just a case of different
opinions. Maybe West, Smiley and Obama simply cannot agree to disagree.
Whatever it is, there has to be more to West and Smiley’s blatant animosity
toward the president than that.
Ironically, there is.
In 2008, then, Senator Obama,
declined Tavis Smiley’s invitation to the 2008 State of the Black Union forum
in New Orleans. With campaign and traveling conflicts, he offered to send
Michelle Obama instead, to which Mr. Smiley declined. Feel free to read the
president’s apology letter to Tavis Smiley, here.
 |
| Smiley and West (Credit: DemocracyNow.org) |
Four years later, a similar, yet,
more personal blunder occurred with West. According to him, phone calls to
President Obama were not returned, and he and his mother were slighted on
tickets to the second inauguration. You can read more about that story, here.
Most Americans do not know what it
is like to have a personal relationship with a United States president. And
those who are privileged to be among the elite inner circles obviously feel
entitled to certain luxuries such as: having Mr. Obama speak at their
functions, return their phone calls or provide them with tickets to
presidential events. But if the goal is to do work that reduces or
eliminates the ills that plague black America, how can that be done when
leaders of the black community continue to tear theirs down in public every
chance they get?
Based on the facts presented, I
cannot be certain that Dr. Cornell West and Tavis Smiley would be harboring the
same disgust for President Obama’s policies on race and economics, had the
events in 2008 and 2012 not occurred. For that reason, Cory Booker, Anthony
Foxx and yes, Jay-Z, will continue to be highly regarded names in my home.
