DOES THIS LOOK LIKE THE LIVING LEGACY OF DR. KING? IF SO, YOU MISSED THE POINT OF THE MOVEMENT.

Dr. Walters, you said,

". . . He [Jesse Jackson] represents to most people the living legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."

What evidence do you have of that? You must be talking to a different "most of the people" than I am, because I ain't hearing nothing even close to that sentiment. I just saw a poll today where only 4% of Black people even see Jesse as a leader--and Sharpton got 6%.

If anything, it's Barack Obama who's walking in Martin's footsteps--and seems to be paying the very same dues by not marching in lockstep to the same old closed-minded attitudes of the past. I don't know how long you've been around, but I remember brothers calling King, "Martin Luther Coon." But those are the dues you have to pay when you start telling people what they NEED to hear, as oppose to what they want to hear. That's why we have so few true leaders--because truth is ugly, and it takes a very special type of man who's willing to bear the slings and arrows attendant to dealing with it.

You also said,

"What concerns me is that we are involved in a great celebration without checking the guidepost that determine whether or not there will be sufficient returns to our community from a Black president in the White House."

Since the entire thrust of your commentary is dedicated to trying to diminish--and let's just call a hat a hat--stereotype Obama as a latter day Uncle Tom, I take it that you prefer McCain. If not, what is your point? Ok, you like Jesse, but Jesse ain't runnin'.

So with all due respect, it sounds to me like a 21st century argument for 19th century thinking.

As African Americans, we are the product of a racist society–and not just any racist society, but a society that is more efficient in producing subtle racists than any other society that has ever existed on the face of this Earth. Due to the necessity of America's need to subjugate Black people, while at the same time, live up to the hypocrisy of our "All men are created equal" credo, a form of racism has spontaneously evolved that is so subtle that even Black people have become racist against themselves–and amazingly, without even knowing it.

As a direct result, Black people in America hate other Black people just as profoundly, and even more violently, than the most virulent White racist in the South. Clear evidence of that is the fact that of the thousands of homicides committed against Blacks every year, not one perpetrator was reported to have been wearing a sheet.

Thus, in my opinion what your piece represents is a political drive-by. With everything that Black people has gone through over the past four centuries in this country, we now have a brother who millions of White folks are now saying, "this is the only man in this nation qualified to save this country", and we still have brothers standing next to the barn, pickin' their teeth with an alfalfa stim, saying, "Yeah boss, but don't forget, he is a coon--you think we can trust 'em?"

Then on the other side of the barn you have Cynthia McKinney running as a third party Nader clone, who don't have a snowball's chance in Hell of doing anything other than ensuring that this Black man won't win.

But I guess if he loses, then we can relax and be happy again. Because then we can go back to the comfortable status quo of being subjugated and ignored again--but at least it won't be by no ignorant ass coon.

Come on, brother! You're much too intelligent for this. Let's wake up and shed these shackles.

Wattree


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