The Black Informant

Out of all the things I have posted o this site, this series by far will be the most absurd, lame and downright asinine thing I have ever done here.

Michelle Obama (Senator Obama’s wife) touched on something recently in her interview on 60 minutes that I believe epitomizes the sentiments of many Black folks in this country: No matter how successful you become, racism in all forms will always be there to haunt you. Here is an excerpt of that interview:

“This is a tough question to ask, but a number of years ago Colin Powell was thinking about running for president, and his wife Alma, really did not want him to run. She was worried about some crazy person, with a gun…. Is that something that you think about?” Kroft asks.

“I don’t lose sleep over it because the realities are that, you know, as a black man, you know, Barack can get shot going to the gas station, you know. So, you know, you can’t make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen. We just weren’t raised that way,” she says. (source)

If you listen to some folks, you would think that for the average Black person has to go through some sort of ceremonial ritual that includes a sacred incantation of “We Shall Overcome” before leaving the house lest a James Earl Ray–type is lurking out there waiting to shoot them down. The truth is, while being Black in America can attract folks out there who have biases based on skin color, in today’s world the color of one’s skin rarely serves as a barrier keeping folks away from experiencing success–as seen in the careers of Barack & Michelle Obama.

The main problem that I have with Obama is that while he touts that America is ready for change and he is the man for the job to bring that change, he still manages to play the race card. Here is Obama again subtly suggesting that America has barely changed over the years. This is what he had to say at his recent appearance in South Carolina:

Hitting one of the early primary states in the first week since announcing his candidacy for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, Obama told supporters he doesn’t believe those who say a black man can’t be elected.

“Twenty years ago, nobody would have believed this crowd in South Carolina,” he said of the racially mixed group. (source)

Hmmmm, let’s think about that for a moment as we step back into time…

“After early respectable losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, he won five southern states on Super Tuesday, March 8, 1988. On March 12 he won the caucus in his birth state of South Carolina and three days later finished second in his home state of Illinois. On March 26, 1988 Jackson stunned Dukakis and the rest of the nation in the Michigan caucus: Having won that northern industrial state with 55 percent of the vote, Jackson became the Democratic front-runner.” (source)

In case you are wondering, the Jackson mentioned here is no other that Jesse Jackson.

Moving on…

In most cases when you hear someone whining about racism, as you peel their complaint it usually falls within one of two categories (or both)

A) Something that happened to them in the not too recent past.

B) Something that did not happen to them directly, yet they feel the need to personalize it as if it happened to them.

B. is very interesting because in many cases if a Black person was to become very successful, the comradeship we easily share in times of great offense becomes scrutinized and filtered based on class (look to people like Oprah or Cosby as two examples of how ANY criticisms they have for some Black folks is seen as condescending towards ALL Black folks).

In these series of posts, I will briefly cover many of the interactions I have with Whites on a daily basis. May I remind you here that you are hearing from a person who started his career in the IT industry, got laid off, worked for a non-profit, had to go on welfare for a while, worked as an overnight security guard in quite a few places including a dairy farm and a hotel, helped my wife clean offices and bathrooms and now work at home in our own family business. I mention this because no matter how much money I had or didn’t have in my pocket, most of my interactions with White folks have been uneventful, to say the least. So while writing about this is pretty lame IMO, I feel the need to do so in an effort to combat the noise out there that Black folks are a sneeze away from returning to the cotton and tobacco fields of the South. I have already started a list of interactions here if you care to revisit that post. In the meantime, here are a few observations from our recent trip to Hawai’i. For those that have a keen interest in hearing about positive Black experiences, here are a few of mine in this land this is supposedly dripping with racism:

(Unless otherwise mentioned, all of these folks mentioned below are White)

#Our plane was delayed for about 3 hours, so the man at the gate gave ALL OF US $10 food vouchers.

#While on the plane, we were served our drinks and snacks just like everybody else.

#Once we arrived at our room on the cruise ship, we quickly discovered that they gave us the wrong room ( a downgraded room from what we paid for). We went to the front desk and spoke with the manager about it. He got back to us the following day and gave us an upgraded room free of charge.

#There were quite a few Black folks on this cruise. From what I have seen they were given the same kind of treatment as everyone else (help with their luggage, served their food, etc)

#At one of the beaches, I lost my wedding band. Three individuals helped me to look for it without having to ask them.

#While standing in line at a car rental store, out of the blue a man who was in front of us in line gave us a coupon to receive a free upgrade on our car rental.

#One of the TVs did not work in our cabin so I informed the person cleaning our room. By the time we came back, the TV was fully functional.

#Went through security many times and did not get stopped under suspicious reasons.

XXXXRACISM ALERTXXXXX My wife entered a restaurant to get some tea. Realizing that the restaurant was closing she decided to skip it. The man who my wife asked for the tea appeared to be very impatient with my wife and reluctantly brought her the tea. HOW DARE HE OFFENDED HER! DOESN’T HE KNOW THAT SHE IS A BLACK WOMAN!

#Requested to have our seats changed on the plane ride back home so that we could be near our kids. Fellow passengers had no problem granting our request.

So the next time you hear of a fellow Black person whining about how there is no good news out there regarding race relations in this country, point them to this series and you will see just how quickly boredom will settle in. The truth is: good news as it relates to race relations is BORING!