Hello, Sir: I am not certain as to the procedure for requesting consideration for publication in you fine magazine, but I have and present here a perspective and some thoughts which I should like to air before the hearts and minds of the Ebony audience. Thank you in advance for this opportunity. Obama in the wake of Rev. Jeremy Wright’s controversy I did not hear soon-to-be “president-elect” Obama‟s speech. I was only able to hear the media hype that followed. I must say that, in part, I agree with the newsmen who spoke and/or interviewed him following the speech: it “…defined him”. Or, at least it did for me. Up to that moment, I had nothing but questions, not the least of which was, who the heck is he? What‟s he done? Why is he so popular with, of all people, white folks?! The questions do and will persist (hopefully, prayerfully, I shall be able to air those in this fine magazine, and others like it), but, I now have a new found appreciation for…the man. Why, specifically? When that interviewer picked up his brush, “eye on the prize”, with measurable stealth of tongue, he moved in for what he perceived to be an easy kill. Evidently, his objective was to catch this neophyte, negro-presidential-wanna-be sleeping. Thus, by a stroke of lip-service—obviously calculated—his subtle attack would have left African Americans in general in the same unjustifiably bigoted and racist light as white Americans, particularly hot-tempered white southerners (this, to say nothing of how his aim would have tarred and feathered his friend Rev. Wright, before the eyes of not just other American whites, but the eyes of an entire watching world). Thereby, white America‟s mistreatment of black America would have been justified. All African Americans would have been culpable. Herein, Mr. Obama showed himself alert; demonstrating not only his keenness, but a healthy concern for a race in which his stake is only 50%, at best (given that his black father was actually born and raised in Kenya, not America). With great tact, character in check, he parried the deadly blow, nipping the venomous assault in the bud, all the while, earning the promise of my vote, for sure, in the process. He has the leadership ability; he is a man of discernment. Although, being Christian myself, I doubtless will not buy into his views on many issues—such as gay rights, and abortion— he cannot possibly be any more worse a choice than any of his white counter-parts, republican or democrat. Moreover, for those who say correctly that Barack Obama is no MLK, I say thank God, „cause‟ if he were, he would of course be phony! A little green perhaps, a little moist behind the ears due to a serious and welcomed want for the pressures and deprivation that gave birth to MLK, he is no less a leader with great potential, in his own right. Time should bear this out marvelously. We must all bear in mind that the furnace that forged our Martin L. King, while yet in existence, being very much alive, sports a thermostat governing a temperature setting, low by comparison. Should the flames of hypocrisy, the
stupidity and the determination of America‟s white racists (smoldering under the covers) ever drive the temperature to its former highs, there is no question that Barack could and would rise to the occasion. He would champion the cause on a par equal to or greater than that of the late MLK. Alvin Mitchell; Phoenix, AZ