Barack Obama in Black and White in Color

As I watched Barack Obama confront the circular media firing squad about his relationship with his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, I was not angry or judgmental, shocked or apprehensive. Over the past several weeks I have felt that the divisiveness of this presidential race was like a heat-seeking missile searching for it's ultimate target. There was collateral damage inflicted along the way: South Carolina, the question of Obama's middle name, Samantha Power's attack of Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro's remarks and all of that lay between. All of these hurt. All of these gave the media a lot to work with -- and, of course, were being banked as precious currency for the GOP carpet-bombing mission to come in the general election.

I guess I had some ideas about what I thought and hoped Obama would say. But when he said that he was not present in the pew when Reverend Wright spoke the words that sparked all this fervor, I was sure that it would not be the end of the story...

What I was wondering was: what could be more constructive than the emotional and intellectual expression of anger, resentment, injustice and despair in church and with God? How can we truly come together without respecting the angry voice that lives inside all of us? And isn't it better to grapple with all of life's complexities in a spiritual context?

And then Barack Obama delivered his speech this morning. A speech that confirmed the historic value of his campaign no matter what happens.

"...we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together -- unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories."

Obama is not a conventional candidate. And it is because of all the things he is and all the things he is not. He understands that we ought to respect all of our stories and learn each other's stories to protect ourselves from our destructive patterns and from ignorance. He is working to help us find the connections between all our stories while not losing our distinctive narratives. And to accept our multi-layered memories as the truths they tell us about ourselves and one another.

And as much as anger and resentment can be an obstacle to progress, polite denial of what is real is another form of tyranny.

The ability to connect the threads of these stories and work toward a whole may be a new way to define leadership -- and Barack Obama could be the leader to point us all in that direction.

Perhaps the thing that will stay with me for a very long time about this speech is Obama's assertion that the one thing we all share -- no matter what our story is -- is the choices we make in how we live those stories out and how we visit them on others.

We each write our own story. But not without acknowledging that there are some indelible touchstones we carry with us. The balance between where we come from and where we are going allows us to become who we are -- as individuals and as a country.

If we choose now to relinquish the opportunity to embrace a leader who sees contradiction with such truth and tolerance we may be doing so at our peril. Because this kind of emotional and intellectual intelligence isn't born from the kind of black and white way of looking at the world we have been living with for the past 8 years. This is a man who dreams in color, and we should seize the opportunity his candidacy offers all of us -- together.

Comments

[consultant55]

HuffPost's Pick

We have experienced such a complete collapse of leadership throughout America, that when genuine leadership is displayed, most people don't know what it is. They think it's a trick or a stunt. It has to be phony. The Clinton's came to recognize Obama's leadership skills, which is why they played the only card they had left-to try to marginalize him as "the black candidate-with scary baggage". But like all great leaders, Barack rose to and surpassed the occasion. The Clinton's thought he was bush league (all puns intended), but they are actually taking on Jackie Robinson. If our country can't elect this man of complexity, keen intelligence and compassion, then we simply can't solve the problems of the Iraq war, health care, a collapsing economy, immigration and skyrocketing energy costs. All of these enormous issues are going to require us to do big things, and do them differently.

Barack has flaws like all the rest of us. And yet, in his role as a leader his message is always uplifting, unifying and grounded in reality. His speech yesterday was not about a smoke screen to hide his escape from the blow up, but about mirrors. How we look at ourselves and our problems-and on the matter of race-how all of us often look away. How contradictions within ourselves and our communities reside side-by-side. All of us are complicit with the legacy of shame and inequality that was given to us by our ancestors and it is often used in the political arena to further divide each generation of Americans.

For all those who said he didn't do enough, do a video blog or stand before an audience and offer a public accounting of the conduct of your life.

Clinton and her surrogates, along with portions of the media, maneuvered Obama into what they thought was a corner, and by his response yesterday, now look so petty, craven and exposed. Even those who don't know, deserve something better.

I'm a black man who feels all sides of Barack's multifaceted argument. My father was among the first black marines in our history (the Marianas and Tarawa), my grandfather among those black troops who fought in WW I, my great-great grandfather was a cowboy on the Chisolm Trail, my ancestors go back to western North Carolina where slaves took the name of local owner and where our families crossed. They took off after the Civil War to west/central Kansas to escape the trauma of the war.

Our past may not be past, but it is certainly interconnected.

This is why I support Barack Obama. John Doxey, Decatur, Georgia

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

Newsflash: This stuff is on DVD, so its not hard to find. Leave Hannaity and Rush alone for reporting the news. The New York Times had a false alarm with McCain and the media was all over that for a week plus. This is a case of judgment, poor at that. Even Collen Powell walked out of one of Rev Wright's hate filled sermons. Obama can get caught clubbing a baby seal and you clowns will make an excuse for that too!

[urfree2speak]

Hmmm...I see the TROLLS still dont get it ...here we are with this racial ministrel show.....and Hillary still has not released ALL of her tax records.....ALL of her First Lady papers....ALL OF THEM! 35 years of expierence? G-I-V-E ...M-E A B-R-E-A-K! I am on a NEW MISSION .....if she and fox cable (not news) can SLIME.....I can type! I will ask for Hillary to release her TAX RECORDS ......BILLS TAX RECORDS...­......REPE­ATEDLY....­..OVER AND OVER...........LIKE A VIDEO LOOP............my friends.....TAX RECORDS...­....RELEAS­E EM.........over .......and over.........over and over......my friends. Oh ,and I have a secret to share......Hillary has not been vetted....­.......her­e is a CLUE.......her law career at the ROSE LAW FIRM............the clients she represente­d.........­...THATS WHERE THERE IS TROUBLE! .......my friends........my friends........did I say my friends?

[joja]

The Clinton Slime Machine has been working overtime to corrupt and manipulate the nominating process to its advantage, and, thanks to its online surrogates, it has succeeded in dragging the Democratic Party down into the gutter of racially divisive politics.

I'm sure the many Clintonista posters here are very proud of the results of all their hard work -- which is a very sad commentary on the state of the political environment in this country today.

Yes, boys and girls, you've managed to divide the electorate into racial and gender camps, and poisoned a whole new generation of voters against participation in the process b/c they're turned off by your negative rhetoric and constant barrage of race-baiting and hate-mongering.

Well done, Hillary, Bill. Just as Iraq will be Bush's real legacy, this will be yours'.

[Gonefishing]

I sat my children down to watch one of the key speeches of our time. I truly believe this marks a turning point, the promise of an honest to goodness paradigm shift in our history. The choice is ours, Obama says but I think it's a generational movement that is carrying him as much as he is inspiring it.

[Friday025]

I too am a multi-racial person of color (of which includes Irish ancestry on my father's side - I'm just as proud of my Irish ancestry as I am of my African and Native American ancestry). I wonder though, what if Hillary (you know, the "boring old white woman" running against the more interesting multi-racial guy) was to give a profound speech about gender discrimination and misogyny, would it be as well-received in america? Or would folks just say she's "whining" again?

Richard Wright wrote:

"Our too-young and too-new America, lusty because it is lonely, aggressive because it is afraid, insists upon seeing the world in terms of good and bad, the holy and the evil, the high and the low, the white and the black; our America is frightened of fact, of history, of processes, of necessity. It hugs the easy way of damning those whom it cannot understand, of excluding those who look different, and it salves its conscience with a self-draped cloak of righteousness. Am I damning my native land? No; for I, too, share these faults of character! And I really do not think America, adolescent and cocksure, a stranger to suffering and travail, and enemy of passion and sacrifice, is ready to probe into its most fundamental beliefs."

Racism is no different than sexism, its just easier for us to ignore that the latter exists ubiquitously.

As a multi-racial person of color, ahh - being a woman AS WELL - just threw a monkey wrench in what some think was THE most profound speech on identity politics of the 21st century.

I'm just saying, if america is so-called "ready" to dialogue about race, shouldn't we be as ready to 'dialogue' about gender and sexism???

Identity politics are such a hoot!

[spacealien]

does anybody know if he was reading from a teleprompter or if he memorized the whole thing?

[Snikta]

How can Obama's speech make a difference when it too wasn't really truthful but a man running for president trying to clean up all this mess. Why do you and so many people want to make this entirely about race? All this time you and others have been saying the Clintons and any one supporting her are racist, etc. Now, when we find out that Obama has been sitting in a church for 20 years listening to his mentor, friend, advisor and pastor spew out hate for this Country and for most of the people. Why do you and others think this Pastor who is filled with hate has a right to down the Country and its people? Why would anyone choose to sat there for 20 years with his family and be subjected to so much hate? It doesn't matter if he is part white, white, 100% black there isn't any excuse for him to support such a person except for the very fact he believes and admires what the Rev. says. I know Michelle admired the Rev. This is the first year she is proud to be an American. I can't betray my Country and vote for the man. If he wins, I will just have to stay home. Also, hate for a certain group of people is just as bad coming from a black as it is coming from a white or anyone else. The preacher is more of a racist than anyone I have heard. My mother always said you will be judged by the people you associate with.

[busybeez]

Barack Obama showed today that he will go down in history as a great American, and I pray American president.

[KDH]

I can just imagine the kind of SupremeCourt judges Obama would chose, with the advice an influence from people like Wright.

[ShawnMichel]

Yeah. Like they'd be worse than the Chimp and his evil cadre.
What a sad, sad fool you are.

[Zeusthunderbolt]

Less Cynical and hateful then you, I hope

[LanceJetson]

In all this discussion, I have yet to see someone counter with McCain's religious endorsements. With the fanatic religious right waiting for Jerusalem to blow up, and wanting to ostracize (or worse) all gay people, etc, what kind of Supreme Court Justice do you think they would endorse? Not one I'd want to see. McCain should be held to as much account for his ministers' positions as Obama for his if we were to be consistent in our criticism.

[passport]

All the repugs and Clinton spin is ...... when they cant find anything else to say is " he was forced into the speech" or " he did it to save his political life"

Even if these things are true (sounds like SPIN to me) I want the guy on my team who steps up to the plate and hits the home run in the bottom of the 9th .
If this is how Obama reacts to pressure then WOW.

Compare it to the Clinton " Kitchen Sink" , change the rules, attack attack attack response to Her problems.

[spacealien]

well said

[falcao]

You'd have to be made of stone not to be proud of and stunned by Senator Obama today. An extraordinary speech. Whether he wins or loses the nomination or the election, he will remain America's true leader.

[cf864]

Yes, Obama gave a good speech that spoke directly to racism which is uncommon in the public arena these days. Much of what he said was true and I agree with. However, to his supporters who are calling it the best political speech in history and giving him so much credit for his courage and uniqueness as a politician for talking about it, I have to remind them that he gave this speech because he HAD too. Not because he WANTED to. If he WANTED to, it would have come long before now. He is fighting for his political life at this point thanks to his association with this pastor. If he were so brave he would gave it long before now. If he had such good judgement he would have left that church years ago, knowing he would one day be running for president, and he would not have been in this situation to begin with.

[listening]

cf864 - why so dismissive? Are right actions only good when done without duress? Were this an easy speech to make, would not any number of great American leaders have given it by now? Perhaps you exaggerate a bit "he is fighting for his political life..." ,or perhaps you wish this were so? I'm going to guess you entirely missed the point and power of what Obama conveyed so effectively today AND I'll venture you have refused to open your mind & heart to anything he would say. How, pray tell, are you so different from this pastor you seek to condemn?

[Shozen]

"If he had such good judgement he would have left that church years ago, knowing he would one day be running for president....."

IF he had done all that, He would be but a Clinton. Angling what is best in order to claim the power for the future.

Did not Obama say the reverend was like family to him? Did he not say that man lead him into faith? One who tosses deep ties to family and faith in order to claim power in the future deserves neither the ties to family, faith or power.

[busybeez]

I disagree that Obama was fighting for his political life. His supporters have not waivered. And Obama is smart enough to know that tomorrow or the next day the media will find someone else to hit--probably Hillary. All he had to do was wait for the next story to come out that the media would turn its attention to. He made the speech because he is a leader, and that's what many of us are looking for at this time in history. I will give it to Hillary--she is a fighter, but she is just not a leader because she is too poll directed (thus her vote for the war).

[memoryaid]

It's like saying that somebody struck a home run because he had to, 'cause the ball was being thrown at him.

He gave a great speech on a tough subject. One that he wrote himself and presented with conviction.

We all knew a speech like this would be necessary at one point, but I think most were hoping it wouldn't come up in the primary - after all, the democrats are supposed to be the accepting party. At least when nobody's trying to polarize the race.

[Uselessboy]

As a performing musician, I WANT TO play my signature tunes in an entirely different time and context than my lay audience can digest them.

So, being a professional, I have learned to meet my audience halfway in the world they live. I sing them my song with my passion, but I pace and time it to their preparedness to hear.

The Senator is a professional politician, and like a performing musician or actor, keenly understands when the moment is right and when it is wrong for him to make a particular point.

[michaelgq]

If we fail to elect this man, we have become an old country.

[MarineBugler]

If anything, this has made people actually think about Obama and about themselves.

Regardless of the eventual outcome, people cannot say that Barack did not challenge their beliefs and their positions on self and country.

Believe me, he is more Presidential than the one we currently have.

- Semper Fi, America

[RallyRound]

Obama's relationship to his pastor (a father figure) who has made unacceptable remarks is parallel
to McCain's relationship to his mother who has made unacceptable remarks about Mormens.

Obama is being raked over the coals unjustly while others skate.

[cf864]

Nice try. No it's not. A relationship with a parent is on a totally different level in terms of strength of bond. In addition McCain's mother's comments were nowhere near the hate spewed by Obama's pastor. Actually, Obama is the one skating while the likes of David Duke, Don Imus, Ferraro have been raked over the coals by the left. This is no longer an election for Obama supporters. It's a movement where all facts and reason have been put aside. Doesn't matter what he does now. But luckily the swing voters who will make the difference in the general are jumping off the train in droves.