Obama Addresses Zimmerman Verdict From a Black Perspective
It was unclear precisely what President Barack Hussein Obama was attempting to accomplish when he introduced White House Press Secretary Jay Carney with a 2,185 word speech at Friday's presser dealing mostly with the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict but he did say some interesting things, things which brought to mind what his predecessor President Abraham Lincoln had thought and said over a century and a half ago.
Following some preliminary comments concerning his sympathy for Trayvon Martin's family, Obama said, €I thought it might be useful for me to expand on my thoughts a little bit€ - suggesting his thoughts might be extemporaneous which they weren't - he commended the Florida judicial process and agreed that Zimmerman's jury had €rendered a verdict. And once the jury's spoken, that's how our system works.€
Usually.
Following those obligatory sentiments, he launched into an extraordinarily personal litany of his life experiences that effectively undermined that verdict and served to further inflame the already irrationally outraged black American community at the same time they reinforced Abe Lincoln's beliefs.
Obama talked about €context€ and how he had earlier €said that this [Martin] could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African-American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that - that doesn't go away.€
He cited various, undocumented instances of his own and other African-American men in this country €being followed when they were shopping,€ €of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars,€ and €of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off,€ but he never clarified why he and they were followed and feared.
Then, peppering his impromptu address with his usual, folksy €you knows,€ the president arrived at the unstated purpose of his thoughts - the alleged repression of blacks in America and the inequity of the Zimmerman verdict: €And you know, I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida... The African-American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws, everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case.€
(In other words, dare I say it, €what happened one night in Florida€ was the consequence of €racial disparities€ which €impact[ed] how people interpret[ed] the case€ and not the consequence of George Zimmerman using a gun to save his life.)
Obama did add what most people already know and that the African-American community is well aware of, that black young men €are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, that they are disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence€ but he explained that reality by inexplicably noting, €black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context.€ He acknowledged €that African-American boys are more violent€ but felt he had to include the thought €that if a white male teen was involved... the aftermath [of the trial] might have been different.€
Obama cautioned that €If I see any violence, then I will remind folks that that dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family,€ but failed to mention whether he would involve the federal government in the current violence sweeping the country which apparently does not dishonor the Martins.
He offered a €five-point plan€ for dealing with reducing mistrust in the system, €professionalizing€ racial profiling, re-examining €Stand Your Ground€ laws, bolstering and reinforcing our African-American boys, and €soul-searching... about [whether we] should we convene a conversation on race.€
Cincinnati Nonprofits Unite to Combat Black-on-Black Violence - BV Unfortunately, he didn't offer a sixth point, addressing what America should do in order to correct the behavior of all too many young, black Americans - dropping out of school, impregnating then abandoning their girlfriends, immersing themselves in the drug culture, joining gangs, engaging in lives of crime - all of which are contributory factors to white women clutching their purses more tightly in elevators, etc.
Finally, Obama invoked Martin Luther King's memorable remonstrance that people should never be judged based on the color of their skin but rather solely on the content of their character, a dictum he himself has never lived by.
African-Americans have long regarded Abraham Lincoln as almost a demigod, crediting him with €freeing the slaves,€ etc. although the 14th president was never a friend to blacks.
4 Lessons From Lincoln - What We Can Learn From America's Greatest He felt slavery was an abomination but few blacks today know that, as late as 1863, he wanted to return all former slaves to Africa but was blocked by a budget-conscious Congress. Lincoln had spelled out his reasoning for the repatriation in an 1858 speech in Charleston, Illinois when he said, €I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races€"that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this, that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality... and I am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.€
No one would promote any of those ideas in 2013. Nevertheless, it's worth noting Lincoln's prescience that €the two races [are incapable of] living together on terms of social and political equality€ as this nation endures repetitive racial upheavals.
Following some preliminary comments concerning his sympathy for Trayvon Martin's family, Obama said, €I thought it might be useful for me to expand on my thoughts a little bit€ - suggesting his thoughts might be extemporaneous which they weren't - he commended the Florida judicial process and agreed that Zimmerman's jury had €rendered a verdict. And once the jury's spoken, that's how our system works.€
Usually.
Following those obligatory sentiments, he launched into an extraordinarily personal litany of his life experiences that effectively undermined that verdict and served to further inflame the already irrationally outraged black American community at the same time they reinforced Abe Lincoln's beliefs.
Obama talked about €context€ and how he had earlier €said that this [Martin] could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African-American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that - that doesn't go away.€
He cited various, undocumented instances of his own and other African-American men in this country €being followed when they were shopping,€ €of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars,€ and €of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off,€ but he never clarified why he and they were followed and feared.
Then, peppering his impromptu address with his usual, folksy €you knows,€ the president arrived at the unstated purpose of his thoughts - the alleged repression of blacks in America and the inequity of the Zimmerman verdict: €And you know, I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida... The African-American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws, everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case.€
(In other words, dare I say it, €what happened one night in Florida€ was the consequence of €racial disparities€ which €impact[ed] how people interpret[ed] the case€ and not the consequence of George Zimmerman using a gun to save his life.)
Obama did add what most people already know and that the African-American community is well aware of, that black young men €are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, that they are disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence€ but he explained that reality by inexplicably noting, €black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context.€ He acknowledged €that African-American boys are more violent€ but felt he had to include the thought €that if a white male teen was involved... the aftermath [of the trial] might have been different.€
Obama cautioned that €If I see any violence, then I will remind folks that that dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family,€ but failed to mention whether he would involve the federal government in the current violence sweeping the country which apparently does not dishonor the Martins.
He offered a €five-point plan€ for dealing with reducing mistrust in the system, €professionalizing€ racial profiling, re-examining €Stand Your Ground€ laws, bolstering and reinforcing our African-American boys, and €soul-searching... about [whether we] should we convene a conversation on race.€
Cincinnati Nonprofits Unite to Combat Black-on-Black Violence - BV Unfortunately, he didn't offer a sixth point, addressing what America should do in order to correct the behavior of all too many young, black Americans - dropping out of school, impregnating then abandoning their girlfriends, immersing themselves in the drug culture, joining gangs, engaging in lives of crime - all of which are contributory factors to white women clutching their purses more tightly in elevators, etc.
Finally, Obama invoked Martin Luther King's memorable remonstrance that people should never be judged based on the color of their skin but rather solely on the content of their character, a dictum he himself has never lived by.
African-Americans have long regarded Abraham Lincoln as almost a demigod, crediting him with €freeing the slaves,€ etc. although the 14th president was never a friend to blacks.
4 Lessons From Lincoln - What We Can Learn From America's Greatest He felt slavery was an abomination but few blacks today know that, as late as 1863, he wanted to return all former slaves to Africa but was blocked by a budget-conscious Congress. Lincoln had spelled out his reasoning for the repatriation in an 1858 speech in Charleston, Illinois when he said, €I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races€"that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this, that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality... and I am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.€
No one would promote any of those ideas in 2013. Nevertheless, it's worth noting Lincoln's prescience that €the two races [are incapable of] living together on terms of social and political equality€ as this nation endures repetitive racial upheavals.
Source...