![President Obama greets Rev. Charles Williams, president of the Michigan Chapter National Action Network. COURTESY PHOTO]()
Obama stands alone
A president that was able to deliver healthcare for millions of Americans who had no care options now stands in a political no man’s land as he opposes the big oil Keystone pipeline and dares open the door of America to immigrants facing family breakups and deportation even as he has killed more “terrorists” than any other American president while basking in the glow of a stock market that has never seen higher numbers as the price of gasoline trends downward; that president, President Obama, now stands alone.
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![President Obama greets Rev. Charles Williams, president of the Michigan Chapter National Action Network. COURTESY PHOTO]()
President Obama greets Rev. Charles Williams, president of the Michigan Chapter National Action Network. COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]
Oh it was cool for you to marvel at the first Black president as if he were some collector’s item on a shelf. But when this flesh-and-blood guy, who used to work as a community organizer in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods, springs to life wielding executive orders, you get nervous and critical.
How dare you handkerchief-heads fronting as Black-opinion-shapers try to pit the Black community against brown people in particular?
There is no need for misery to compete with misery. It is sheer lunacy for Blacks to hammer President Obama’s immigration policy reform because of Black unemployment. It is not as if Black labor is readily available, let alone willing, to do much of the work that Latinos do. Give me a reality break here. This is just another reactionary response that hinders coalition-building.
Believe me, the day brown and Black people unite to address common issues centered on income inequality, education, business and economic development; that day will be an orgasmic delight for the Statue of Liberty.
I signed an online petition of support for President Obama moving on immigration reform and received an email from Helen Chavez, the widow of Cesar Chavez. Both helped found the United Farm Workers.
Mrs. Chavez recounted the day she spoke with president Obama and asked, “Mr. President, will you promise you will do something on immigration reform?” “Yes, Mrs. Chavez, I promise I will,” he (President Obama) said. Mrs. Chavez stated: “Today, President Obama kept his promise to me and to the American people by using his power to help many of the immigrants who toil in our fields, make beds, clean rooms, cook meals, work in construction and manufacturing, and care for our young and elderly. They serve our country in the military. I’ve known the farm workers all my life.
“Like other immigrants, they take jobs most other Americans won’t take for pay most other Americans won’t accept and under conditions most other Americans won’t tolerate. Big parts of our economy can’t survive without immigrants.
“All President Obama did is what President Reagan and President George H.W. Bush did, letting some immigrants stay and work here. Most of the immigrants who qualify have been in this country for some time. They have clean records.
“What the president did is just temporary, and it is only after the Republicans in the House of Representatives repeatedly refused to pass a bipartisan bill that already passed the U.S. Senate.
“President Obama did the right thing on immigration. Please join me in thanking him for his leadership. At the same time, we should urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that will “solve this problem once and for all.” Though we have miles to travel, thank you Helen Chavez and President Obama for fighting for an America that is a land of the free.
We must never let haters cause us to lose hope or dislike ourselves, and never let haters make you weak in your faith. Keep the faith. Stay on the battlefield.
Sam Riddle, J.D. is political director for National Action Network Michigan Chapter. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/sam.riddle or Twitter at twitter.com/samriddle.
President Obama greets Rev. Charles Williams, president of the Michigan Chapter National Action Network. COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]
Oh it was cool for you to marvel at the first Black president as if he were some collector’s item on a shelf. But when this flesh-and-blood guy, who used to work as a community organizer in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods, springs to life wielding executive orders, you get nervous and critical.
How dare you handkerchief-heads fronting as Black-opinion-shapers try to pit the Black community against brown people in particular?
There is no need for misery to compete with misery. It is sheer lunacy for Blacks to hammer President Obama’s immigration policy reform because of Black unemployment. It is not as if Black labor is readily available, let alone willing, to do much of the work that Latinos do. Give me a reality break here. This is just another reactionary response that hinders coalition-building.
Believe me, the day brown and Black people unite to address common issues centered on income inequality, education, business and economic development; that day will be an orgasmic delight for the Statue of Liberty.
I signed an online petition of support for President Obama moving on immigration reform and received an email from Helen Chavez, the widow of Cesar Chavez. Both helped found the United Farm Workers.
Mrs. Chavez recounted the day she spoke with president Obama and asked, “Mr. President, will you promise you will do something on immigration reform?” “Yes, Mrs. Chavez, I promise I will,” he (President Obama) said. Mrs. Chavez stated: “Today, President Obama kept his promise to me and to the American people by using his power to help many of the immigrants who toil in our fields, make beds, clean rooms, cook meals, work in construction and manufacturing, and care for our young and elderly. They serve our country in the military. I’ve known the farm workers all my life.
“Like other immigrants, they take jobs most other Americans won’t take for pay most other Americans won’t accept and under conditions most other Americans won’t tolerate. Big parts of our economy can’t survive without immigrants.
“All President Obama did is what President Reagan and President George H.W. Bush did, letting some immigrants stay and work here. Most of the immigrants who qualify have been in this country for some time. They have clean records.
“What the president did is just temporary, and it is only after the Republicans in the House of Representatives repeatedly refused to pass a bipartisan bill that already passed the U.S. Senate.
“President Obama did the right thing on immigration. Please join me in thanking him for his leadership. At the same time, we should urge Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that will “solve this problem once and for all.” Though we have miles to travel, thank you Helen Chavez and President Obama for fighting for an America that is a land of the free.
We must never let haters cause us to lose hope or dislike ourselves, and never let haters make you weak in your faith. Keep the faith. Stay on the battlefield.
Sam Riddle, J.D. is political director for National Action Network Michigan Chapter. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/sam.riddle or Twitter at twitter.com/samriddle.