Samuel L. Jackson: I Voted For Obama 'Because He Was Black'

Samuel L. Jackson made a surprising confession in the March issue of Ebony.

"I voted for Barack because he was black. Cause that’s why other folks vote for other people — because they look like them," Jackson said, according to the New York Post.

He contended that Obama's message wasn't important, since he believes most politicians will say anything to get elected.

"That’s American politics, pure and simple. [Obama’s] message didn’t mean [anything] to me. In the end, he’s a politician. I just hoped he would do some of what he said he was gonna do. I know politicians ... lie cause they want to get elected," he continued, according to TMZ.

The president is banking on African American support for November's election. Earlier this month, he unveiled a new push to court black voters.

"He needs the support of the African-American community in order to continue to bring positive change to our community," campaign advisor Stefanie Brown told The Huffington Post.

However, not everyone in the community thinks race is enough of a reason to vote for Obama. J.C. Watts, a prominent black Republican, is a vocal Newt Gingrich supporter and Princeton professor Cornel West told Sean Hannity that while he believed the president deserves a second term, he wished he would be "more intense in terms of his commitment to poor and working people."

Comments

[mikeybos]

05:28 PM on 09/29/2012

Blacks voting for an incompetent, divisive Obama because he's BLACK?? "Shocker" there. There is RECORD POVERTY IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY, UNDER OBAMA, and anyone who has the slightest clue can see HOW incompetent is, but when polls say that despite Obama not doing squat for the black community, 95-3% of blacks will be voting for Obama anyway.

I would say IGNORANCE IS BLISS, but blacks are suffering more under Obama than any other president, so "bliss" is out of the question (ignorance sure isn't though, right Sam Jackson?)

[Charleskm]

03:19 PM on 10/12/2012

What about white voting for incompetent George Bush 2 who sounded like a High School drop out because he was White. Think before you write buddy.

[Ed in Sac]

03:20 PM on 09/27/2012

SLJ makes the point that others choose a candidate because they look like themselves. Wish all people would look beyond race, sex, and religion in choosing President, but again it is his right to choose on race alone.

[CanadaStan]

12:29 PM on 09/14/2012

Huh?
Surprising?
Please, Obama was elected because he was black, not in spite of it.

[David E May]

07:55 AM on 08/30/2012

I voted for Obama because he is the best person for the job by far. Republicans always wreck our economy and start Wars. They run up the deficit and use that as an excuse to slash programs that help people. Idiots vote for them because they use tactics that appeal to the worst in people. Greed hate & racism just to name a few.

[CanadaStan]

12:31 PM on 09/14/2012

Missed that whole Libya thing, didja?
And the trillions in debt Obama added?

[David E May]

03:29 PM on 09/14/2012

Mitt Romney has shown himself to be ignorant on the facts and a liar.

[adf1976]

04:00 PM on 09/14/2012

was it his community organiser expertise that sealed it 4 u?

[David E May]

04:54 PM on 09/14/2012

His community organization is definitely a plus for me because I have been a community organizer too. We should all help to make the world a better place.

[adf1976]

09:27 PM on 09/14/2012

Oh my, no offence but if that is all that is required to run a country there are many community organisers who should try and be nominated as a potential Presidential candidate. No offence, it takes more than that to run a huge country in the USA as his results verify that!

[Jr Maki]

01:23 AM on 05/27/2012

So if he voted for a black man for being black, he voted aginst a white man for being white. Thats racist right?

[David E May]

07:47 AM on 08/30/2012

No fool!

[CanadaStan]

12:32 PM on 09/14/2012

Obviously he is a racist, he voted based on race.
Pretty simple....

[NoOne18]

05:41 PM on 09/28/2012

It *would* have been if that's what Jackson said, but it wasn't. He didn't say that he *didn't* vote for someone based on his color. And if people would READ THE STUPID ARTICLE, they could tell that color wasn't the ONLY thing Jackson referenced. Good grief!!! Ok, rant over....

[joebro1060]

09:11 AM on 08/30/2012

Well, if he said he voted for a politician because they were white I am sure there would be a huffington post article on how this person only sees skin deep and has some sort of pent up latent racism. The problem with this statement comes because some people will only read the first part. Jackson goes on to say that he feels ALL politicians lie just to get votes. This may be true, and to him the exact person doesn't really matter, since the all lie. Therefore, he placed his vote where his loyalties lie, with his ethnicity. Granted, we should all be held responsible for making an informed vote. It isn't an excuse for you to vote for 1 person because of their race, since you feel all candidates are equally bad. Each candidate is very different, and their views will coincide with different voter's views. Therefore, put the energy into researching the candidates. Not just on one website like this, but vary the locations you get your resources. Then you can make an educated vote for the candidate that fits your views best. Not just because someone looks like you.

[hyperion100]

07:33 PM on 02/23/2012

That's funny . . . I voted for Obama because he is white.

[creek73]

12:10 AM on 11/15/2012

He has something for everyone!

[LandusX]

05:56 PM on 02/22/2012

There are Politicians who act to get the part! And then there's Obama who does the part!! So, Samuel just an update: Obama is doing a good job, and fighting a tough battle. So in 2012 you can vote again for Obama. But, this time when you vote, it will be because of a good job he's doing and not his skin color.

[glitterik]

07:32 PM on 02/18/2012

Barack Obama seems to be more like me than any other candidate, and I'm a white woman. Unlike Samuel Jackson, however, I pay attention to what's going on in the world. And I care, and that is why I vote Democratic!

[wbill1026]

10:25 PM on 02/20/2012

Amen sister.Democrats care for all the people not just the rich.

[mikeybos]

05:38 PM on 09/29/2012

Glitterik, I bet you can't defend Obama's record. I can tell by your comments that your support for Obama is superficial, and that you don't know Obama's record (I know his record VERY well). You claim you know what's going on in the world, so prove it to me by defending Obama's record.

[veryradiant]

09:57 PM on 02/17/2012

In a post racial society, I believe everyone agrees that race should not make a difference on who to vote for. There are many fine arguments that can be made for voting for Obama or McCain. He is a Nobel Peace Prize winner after all. But the race of either one of them shouldn't have been one of them. Therefore when someone says the reason they voted for someone is primarily because of their race, I have to disagree strongly with that kind of justification.

[Jr Maki]

01:47 AM on 05/27/2012

Nobel prizes go to those that wage war it would seem. I have yet to see him stop a war or prevent one. His lack of support on green energy that would free us from some fighting over oil makes for bad case as well. Whats your point!

[joebro1060]

09:13 AM on 08/30/2012

Obama lacks support for green energy? Did you miss the part where he gave over $500 million of US taxpayer's monies to failing companies and then never asked for it back in the subsequent sale of the company? That seems pretty generous to me.

[joebro1060]

09:15 AM on 08/30/2012

Keyword here is "SHOULD". Race should not make a difference these days, and in many cases this is fact. But, there are still latent racial issues that have yet to be removed from the US societies. That's why we get articles like these. Some people just don;t want to learn. O well, still hope for the next generation to be better.

[focusedoc]

12:35 PM on 02/17/2012

I don't get the big deal. I took a poli sci class that explained that most americans don't know a thing about politics and vote for superficial reasons. People vote what their friends would vote, and people vote for people that remind them of themselves in hopes that they will enact policies that benefit them. Herman Cain was an idiot and was beyond the black vote ahaha. But I know if there was an atheist candidate that was viable or a gay one, tons of people would vote for that one reason. If there was another female candidate and viable...same thing. Politics is superficial and he admitted his own.

[Fred Bronson]

12:32 PM on 02/17/2012

I think most people did, I am a white American and I voted for Obama for two reasons first I could not listen to that woman for four years I do not know how her husband does he must be hard of hearing, second I thought he would put Americans to work by deporting hispanics here illegally since they are the reason most blacks here are not working, I was wrong he does not care about us. But iwill not make the same mistake twice.

[bbradford71]

04:46 PM on 02/22/2012

You really beleive that the majority of blacks that do not have a job is due to illegal immigrants, that has got to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

[Fred Bronson]

07:02 PM on 02/22/2012

Well then, just remember you said it I didn't call you dump. First it is, less then 20 years ago the job site were 50 50 half black half white, when you had summer vacation you got a construction job, when you got out a lot went back, now 90% of the people working are illegal hispanics whites and blacks got pushed out. So now if you can not go to collage you are screwed. It doesn't take an idiot to see that....

[joebro1060]

09:26 AM on 08/30/2012

You must not have ever read BO's platform notes huh?

[Oscar L Phillips]

02:26 AM on 02/17/2012

At least he told the truth. How many would say they DIDN'T vote for him because he is black?

[adf1976]

04:02 PM on 09/14/2012

hes not black or white he is biracial

[cza2129]

10:24 PM on 02/16/2012

"He needs the support of the African-American community in order to continue to bring positive change to our community,"??? How bout bringing some jobs....to ALL community's. How bout bringing policies that will lower the price of gas? Instead of all this abortion, and contraception BS, some REAL change that we ALL need.

[mikeybos]

05:42 PM on 09/29/2012

cza, agreed, but let's be real, NO ONE CAN DEFEND OBAMA'S HORRID POLICIES, so they end up making asinine platitudinal comments, as Sam Jackson did.

[tjamman]

08:06 PM on 02/16/2012

Whatever anyone AND Samuel Jackson may say, him being black was surely NOT the sole issue.

Would he have supported Cain?

What if Clarence Thomas were running (yes not gonna happen!)?

Chris Rock made it plain. To paraphrase - 'yeah I'm proud and I like that he's black, but I wouldn't be proud if FLAVA FLAV was running!'

[focusedoc]

12:30 PM on 02/17/2012

agreed

[jimmydee1137]

12:29 PM on 02/16/2012

I voted for Obama because I expected him to be more of a diplomat. A few years ago everyone was concerned about the chinese. Someone decided that there were 800 million people who should be drinking pepsi cola and wearing levi jeans. Nixon and Kissinger walked on the china wall, we had "ping pong diplomacy". Now China is one of our biggest trading partners. DIPLOMACY. Also, has anyone noticed that we only go to war with counttries that we feel we can easily defeat? Others we negotiate with.

[cza2129]

10:29 PM on 02/16/2012

No...lets go to war with countries that might kick our butts.... thats like saying hey lets go to the joint find the biggest badass we can and pick a fight with him????

[jimmydee1137]

08:34 AM on 02/17/2012

Im simply saying lets not go to war so quickly with ANYONE. In Iraq the inspectors asked for another 60 days to complete the job they were sent to do. They could not find any evidence of WMD. One wise man once said the best way to deal with an enemy is to make him your friend. {like we did with China}.

[mikeybos]

05:47 PM on 09/29/2012

Jimmy, you're right. Qaddafi had already renounced all his WMD program, and he was harmless, so Obama joins in ousting him, because it was EASY TO DO. Meanwhile, the atrocities and violence in Syria make what happened in Libya look like a walk in the park, and Obama isn't doing squat against Libya/Assad.

Look at the violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt, since the Muslim Brotherhood took control. (This is the same MB that wants to destroy Israel, and Obama wanted to invite the MB to the WH.)