Black Scholars Give Their Take on President Obama's State of the Union Address

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President Obama
The Shirley Chisholm Presidential Accountability Commission is a group of concerned scholars and activists who seek "to continuously monitor and evaluate the policy priorities and legislative proposals of presidential administrations in relationship to the needs, issues, vital interests and aspirations of people of African descent in the U.S. and globally."

I am a member of the commission, but admittedly not an active one. I am glad to observe and support the commission because I believe in the mission, but I do not wish to be overly active because my goal with President Obama is to evaluate him in an unbiased way. Beyond being limited in my time, I am also not a big fan of political speak, as I find myself consistently wondering what black politicians are actually doing for any of us.

But with my own cyncism being put to the side, I can highlight some of the observations that these respected scholars came up with as it pertained to President Obama's most recent State of the Union address. You can read the full report at this link.

The group doesn't appear to be bashing President Obama in its message. The dialogue implies that the scholars have a keen understanding of the difficulties of juggling the numerous and conflicting challenges of the presidency. At the same time, they also seem to understand that empowered advocacy is necessary to remind the president that he can certainly do more. In the report, they state the following:


On balance the Commission concludes that President Obama has articulated a vision of economic growth and opportunity which offers some promise for people of African descent. Nonetheless, targeting is still necessary to end structural gaps/disparities between Blacks and Whites. It is imperative that the State of Emergency in Black America be confronted head-on.

The commissioners also go on to note that President Obama did not use the word "poor" during his speech, being the first Democratic president since Truman to do so. This is a worrisome trend for anyone with a concern for the plight of those who struggle at the bottom of America's economic ladder. On this, the commission adds:

It is important for the President to educate the public on the need to improve the quality of life for the poor as a "moral obligation" consistent with "American values." In addition, the President should stand firm in defending the collective bargaining rights of unions as vital vehicles for promoting a higher standard of living for workers and the middle class.

The commissioners contextualize Obama's speech by labeling him as to be a "pragmatic progressive," with the willingness to support the ideas of his base while appealing to independents by taking on his own party. Given that politicians only act on incentives, the sad truth is that the continuous existence of overwhelming black support tells us that our president has almost no incentive to speak up for black people. I have yet to hear his administration address either our community or targeted economic policy in any meaningful public forum, and that leaves me quite disappointed.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. To follow Dr. Boyce on Facebook, please click here.

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