Charleston, South Carolina — People are still raving about Obama’s uncensored delivery of South Carolina’s state Sen. Clementa Pinckne eulogy. While it was not his most passionate delivery, the President preached on issues about racism and gun violence, “Once the eulogies have been delivered, once the TV cameras move on, to go back to business as usual. That’s what we so often do to avoid uncomfortable truths about the prejudice that still infects our society.”
Many people thought by having a black President, as a nation, we would move closer to true integration. Obama commented in the days before Sen. Clementa Pinckne funeral, “I’ve had to make statements like this too many times,” and “Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times.” However, it seems in recent months racial tensions have stiffen and conditions have only worsen for the black community. “Maybe we now realize the way a racial bias can infect us even when we don’t realize it so that we’re guarding against not just racial slurs but we’re also guarding against the subtle impulse to call Johnny back for a job interview but not Jamal…”, President Obama lamented. This all comes at a time when black progression and regression collide leaving an infectious, festering wound to heal itself.
See video and full text of President Obama’s eulogy for Clementa Pinckney
Remarkably we live in a country where wrongs can be made right by giving everyone equal constitutional rights to marriage. Yet, the decriminalization of marijuana continues to handicap the black community. President Obama drew attention to such systemic oppression as well in Sen. Clementa Pinckne eulogy: “Perhaps it softens hearts towards those lost young men, tens and tens of thousands caught up in the criminal-justice system and lead us to make sure that that system’s not infected with bias.” A injustice system in which statistic show that blacks are 8.3 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana related offenses.
We talk a lot about race. There’s no shortcut. We don’t need more talk
The shocking reality is the U.S. is not interested in racism, its main focus is on the bigger picture. We fail to understand the goals of Obama’s administration and those of his personal agenda are often conflicted. The big picture is about world power and not the social issues that effect us. Black America has questioned Obama’s commitment to various issues on race. If they had any doubts Obama made it clear that racism does not need to be a conversation but a continued action: “Every time something like this happens, somebody says, “We have to have a conversation about race.” We talk a lot about race. There’s no shortcut. We don’t need more talk.”
President Obama is confident that the out pour of unity and strength following the death of Reverend Clementa Pinckney, along with eight others indicate a degree to which those old vestiges of hatred can be overcome. Others remain skeptical with little data to support this idea since the killing of Travyon Martin to the reckless deaths leading to the evening of June 17th at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
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