In the 1930s, there was a shift in African American allegiance from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. Many factors contributed to this shift. The flood of 1927 and the negligence of the Hoover administration, The Great Depression which lead the African American community into further economic depression and the New Deal which aided many. The need for political upward mobility and the idea of empowerment vs. subordination was another. For these reasons, many in the black community were pushing for blacks to switch their allegiance because it would be in the best interest of their people.

There was much infighting amongst black political leaders and it was very much a generational divide as it is today. Many younger leaders faced opposition from the older more established leaders in the Republican Party. They felt that they should stay in the Republican Party because of their allegiance with the party and the fact that it was the party of Lincoln. They believed this despite the disappointment of the Hoover administration, despite the fact that the Republican Party often did not operate with the best interest of the black community in mind and despite the fact that the Republican Party limited their own political voice and advancement. Many of the established and older black politicians even tried to block the advancement of the younger politicians who were representative of this new thinking. In a book that I once used on this topic, the author writes:

�Younger blacks especially spoke with some disdain for their elders, who were firmly established in the Republican political hierarchy. They painted an unflattering portrait: �handkerchief heads,� they called them-old party warhorses, self-interested, self-satisfied, feeding off the patronage of white political machines and insensitive to the broader concerns of the race.�

Despite the fact that both Clinton and Obama are in the same party, this historical occurrence is very relevant today with what we are seeing with the black establishment breaking for the Clintons. Many never bothered to look into any other candidate preferring to hold onto old allegiances.

. Many looked at Obama with disdain for several reasons, he had the audacity to try and run against Clinton, they did not trust him because he was technically outside the circle and is preaching a different kind of politics, they felt that he may take away from their importance and leverage as the connection between the black electorate and the democratic party amongst other things. The black political establishment is holding onto what can be seen as the Clinton legacy or for some, the Clinton �fairytale� in the same way, those of the black political establishment in the Republican party of the 1930s held on to the legacy of Lincoln.

I�m sorry for the long comment but I have been dying to share this historical parallel that could shed further light on what is going on today.

Blacks continue to demonstrate in state after state that the only issue that matters to them is race (also obvious from just about any black blog you happen to stumble across). This coming from the community that’s constantly pointing the “You racist!” finger at everyone else (Bill and Hillary Clinton being the latest examples).

As a Massachusetts single parent, 2 job holding resident, I wish reporters and interested parties would ask Mitt Romney, our former Governor, about his mandated health insurance plan for all Massachusetts residents he left us with. Ask democrats, republicans and independent voters what we think about this plan. This is the same plan that Hillary wants to adopt. Please do yourself a favor and ask the Massachusetts residents how it feels to no longer have a choice about putting food on the table, because YOU MUST, pay for a premium you can’t afford. Ask MA residents how LONG it takes them to get a visit with their PCP (Primary Care Physicians). Ask the MA seniors about their medicine vs health care premium. I can go on, but please ask the questions. Also note that Mitt Romney never gives credit or much talk to his governorship here in Massachusetts, because he KNOWS that Massachusetts RESIDENTS think he is a scam. Mandated health care IS NOT a good plan…TRUST ME, and the rest of the MA residents who can vouch this.
Barack has the better plan.

Submitted by a Blacks4Barack Commenter

Seems like the only one who benefits from Hillary’s Plan is her buddies at the INSURANCE COMPANIES ! And to those of you who don’t care because you’re covered…..don’t lose your job !

Visit:http://www.Blacks4Barack.org

That’s all. JJP is cool with me.

So that I just don’t care about. Especially considering that Obama is WINNING. Everyone is all up in umbrage when the man is winning handily and is well on his way to the nomination.

And while no one owes the Clintons anything, I still don’t have it in me to talk about them the same way the Republicans did the entire time they were in office. Granted it is partly their fault why they’ve invited this ill will, but I simply don’t care enough to get mad.

Especially since Obama is winning.

I just don’t understand attacking people. The members of the CBC are smart people and can read the writing on the wall when their districts are voting 75 to 90 percent for Obama. They will either adjust and switch sides, or they’ll stay true to their prior commitments.

None of this will matter anyway, because if Obama is the nominee they’ll stand behind him and will work hard to get him elected.

So basically we’re having a fight in our own family that’s caused folks to burn bridges and turn on one another to get their guy or gal through.

I just pray that if and when Obama becomes the nominee, survives the election and becomes our first black president how long will it be between when he moves into the White House before black folks start complaining when he isn’t able to do everything he said he could do due to the constraints and problems of politics – American style.

Not to mention, that to win, Obama is going to forced by whites, both centrists and Republicans, to distance himself from all black issues in order to win, because if a white president helps out a few black folks he’s pandering. If the black man does it, he’s a racist.

So I wish everyone would calm down. We’ve got a long fight ahead and we don’t need to be wasting our energy on leaving death threats for Maxine Waters.

To be clear, my issue isn’t that you’re voting for Obama tomorrow. In fact, I too may be forced to pull his lever now that Dennis Kucinich (whose campaign I have supported from the beginning) and John Edwards are out of the race. The difference, however, is that you supported Barack when there were legitimate alternatives left on the ballot. For me, such a choice is an unnecessary concession that a real Left-wing movement is no longer possible and that we must settle for Obama’s watered down centrism.

Like you, I don’t romanticize the role of the president. Indeed, it is our job as intellectuals, activists, and everyday citizens to force politicians to operate in our interests. This is precisely why it is so critical that we support an individual who at least articulates a politics that is aligned with our struggle. While Obama may be more progressive than Hillary, his politics stand in sharp contrast to those of Kucinich, Edwards, and countless others whose “viability” (a term I detest) is undermined by our failure to support them. By exhausting our hope at the level of the immediate and the pragmatic, we create a self-fulfilling prophecy that says that we can’t do any better than choose between two corporate controlled centrists.

You say that Obama’s candidacy is a testament to our capacity to believe. From where I sit, it is a consequence of our failure to do so.”

Marc Lamont Hill

I’m feel that a lot of African Americans are seeing it this way, many are voting for Clinton just to oppose Obama, others are seeking other party options and many are siiting out.

What is your response to this view at JJP?

http://www.sugarnspice.typepad.com

Call her out!!

“When I heard a Black Clinton supporter invoke his two young daughters by claiming that they could believe they could be president if Clinton becomes one, an emotional appeal if ever there was one, and then denounce a Black Obama supporter as being too emotional, I spit out my tea.”

Craig, I saw that on Chris Matthews last night. I screamed, what the hell?

“If this Democratic primary comes down to the Superdelegates, and you don’t vote the will of your constituents — which is Obama — you won’t have a job”.

Marion Barry just put it down on Tucker on this issue. He said Black superdelegates don’t need any sympathy. This is politics. It’s tough. Constituents are supposed to put pressure on their elected officials.

Obviously, one thing these primaries do is give us a sense of WHO THE CANDIDATES ARE. And wow… any human being should have a REAL GOOD SENSE of who HIllary Clinton is.

I understand you don’t like black who don’t react when another black is dumped on. I must say, I don’t like Jews who don’t react when another Jew is dumped on. But this goes beyond race. NO matter what the race, no matter what the sex, we’ve all had a chance to see WHO HILLARY IS, and we’ve all had a chance to see WHO BARACK IS.

And at this point in the primaries, I am offended by any HUMAN BEING who doesn’t GET IT.

Let me just say, on a personal note, I try not to call other blacks “uncle toms” or “house negroes.” After all, I don’t hold a monopoly on what it means to be black. I also know that we’re not a monolith.

But I call BS when I see it. And rikyrah did a good job of putting things into perspective.

Now, I’m not personally calling anyone any names. But, I can’t shake this famous quote:

“If the master’s house caught on fire, the house Negro would fight harder to put the blaze out than the master would. If the master got sick, the house Negro would say, ‘What’s the matter, boss, we sick?’ We sick! He identified himself with his master, more than his master identified with himself. And if you came to the house Negro and said, ‘Let’s run away, let’s escape, let’s separate,’ the house Negro would look at you and say, ‘Man, you crazy. What you mean, separate? Where is there a better house than this? Where can I wear better clothes than this? Where can I eat better food than this?’ That was that house Negro. In those days he was called a ‘house nigger.’ And that’s what we call them today, because we’ve still got some house niggers running around here.” – Malcolm X

Obama has emerged as a leader and statesman to call upon us to put an end to identity politics. But you won’t hear that message if you aren’t listening to him because you’ve already decided he has nothing to say.

Clinton, on the other hand, has turned up the noise on identity politics as part of her kitchen sink strategy to halt Obama’s momentum. Her campaign has the nerve to suggest that Obama must win all four states on Tuesday in order to prove that the electorate isn’t having buyer’s remorse.

Desperation turns people into fools.

What Barack has done is not only a psychological breakthrough; it is also a spiritual one. Hillary Clinton wants to push blacks back to “that place” where they(we) see ourselves only as receivers of white benevolence. At no point, should we be allowed to write our own narrative. This tactic is unforgivable.

I am Canadian, but have been keenly watching the primary coverage. I am embarrassed by the blacks who are trotted out to speak against their own best interest and the interest of their race. I am so ashamed and angry. These blacks have no damned self respect! African Americans have waited so long for someone like Barack and that they would use African Americans to discredit him is UNFORGIVABLE! There is no redemption for these black “leaders” – they should NEVER be trusted again.

Hillary should have been booed at SOBU; but, blacks sat there politely while Tavis – the ventriloquist – told them to welcome her. People like Tavis have become fat and complacent and have made peace with the status quo…they NEED to go!

The Clinton’s are corrupt and criminals. Hillary is no feminist, and is a disgrace to women. With her shameful behaviour, she has damaged to cause of women who try to run in the future. She has tried to destroy the cause of all future black candidates. Everything the Clinton’s touch turns to shit. And I am sure, elected blacks will destroy themselves by continuing to support her. Bill Clinton is a sexual predator and his wife a power hungry enabler. In order to hold onto power, she has investigated and harassed the women who spoke out against her husband. As a young lawyer, she vilified a 12 year old rape victim in defense of her much older attacker. This man fired his original male lawyer and picked Hillary’s name from a list because he wanted to be defended by a woman. Hillary is practiced at defending rapists. I despise this woman, and I hope she is soundly beaten in Texas and Ohio so she cannot do any more damage to Obama, race relations or the Democratic party.

-Pissed off in Canada