Now that Dr. Cornel West and television personality Tavis Smiley have set out like an Afro-centric version of “Thelma and Louise” on a tour denouncing the Obama administration for what the two decry as a lack of focus on the poor, the only real interest I have is how this road trip ends. Will West-Smiley lock hands and drive over the cliff or are they apt to take us along for the ride and the plunge?
To say that I am disappointed in Dr. West and Tavis is an understatement.
During one of the most difficult periods African-Americans have faced in the post-Reconstruction era, we should expect more from Black elites who claim to possess some special anointing to lead the masses. It is not a matter of their criticism of President Obama that disturbs me; it is how they are going about their critique and the sense that much of it is personal and has little to do with the general welfare of our community. There is no question that this administration has a lot of work to do to improve economic conditions for Blacks, every monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reads like an epitaph for Black America. Still, to simply lay all the blame at the foot of 44, when the policies of 43 got us into this mess, suggests an analysis by West and Smiley that is either rooted in ignorance or intentionally misleading. Given the truly historical circumstances that created the present crisis, and the manner in which current inequities have been cumulative, the idea that President Obama is somehow fully responsible for our present condition is absurd.Read the rest here
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