General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Any thoughts why Cornel West always finds it necessary to refer to the color of the Presidents skin [View all]ancianita
(35,933 posts)Obama "Brother Barack" is REAL. Not bullshit, and only whites who don't understand black rhetoric naysay how West talks about Obama. Obama knows. He doesn't need a bunch of whites here hand wringing about how the bigots of the left will exploit this public difference. For all anyone here knows, they're both having a good laugh about whose side whites take.
I'm WAY Left. White. Have read every Cornel West book. Taught one of them. Listen to Smiley regularly. I and many whites I know support both Obama AND these two naysayers. The name calling here is unfair.
Support doesn't equal agreement. Working with the black community, I've been told by members -- working class and professionals -- of the black community, that criticism from within is acceptable, part of black history. In-house criticism is expected; they believe in their own and want to strengthen, toughen them. They've seldom mistaken "unity" for "uniformity," and neither should whites.
Sure, Cornel and Tavis have resented being overlooked, but if bigoted whites from any part of the political spectrum didn't have West's and Smiley's words to exploit, they'd invent some black critics' words to exploit, anyway, even if they had to search quotables from black history's famous. Don't think West and Smiley are unaware of this.
Whites' wanting allies to make their criticisms 'valid' or 'not racist' go back a long way. From either party on any number of issues. It's election time. Let's not use "baby with the bathwater" put-downs or imply a total tear down of two critics whose own very well respected body of work has made them culture builders in the black community.