The 2008 election of Barack Obama as President of the United States was supposed to have elevated America into a post-racial society. There was the hope that black Americans would be granted more opportunities and would progress in their economic and social relations.
Unfortunately, the opposite has occurred as blacks are reporting feeling less free to express themselves, and less empowered.
A recent study showed that more than 70 percent of blacks felt comfortable utilizing their freedom of speech rights in 2009, but sadly, this number didn’t hold up throughout the remainder of President Obama’s first term. “…Perceptions of political freedom deteriorated among conservative and religious blacks,” says James Gibson, professor of government and African-American studies at Washington University. By 2011, only 56 percent of blacks felt comfortable expressing themselves in a manner of free speech, which harkens back to the days of a pre-Obama presidency.
One of the reasons why empowerment may have felt like it was slipping from the grasp of many black conservatives and religious leaders is because Obama’s presidency has been at odds with their core beliefs and principles.
Black conservatives found themselves in disarray and utter disappointment regarding the president’s support for same-sex marriage. William Owens, president of the Coalition of African-American Pastors, boldly expressed his discontent over this controversial issue. “We were once proud of President Obama, but our pride has turned to shame,” he exclaimed. “The man holding the most powerful position in the world is stooping to lead the country down an immoral path.” Owens and the coalition have expressed their desire to meet with the President to discuss this, but have been ignored.
Blacks have also found themselves used as a scapegoat for racial division in the discussion of voter ID laws. In an address to the NAACP, Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that supporters of voter ID laws were advocating for a poll tax. Holder used this language to cause an emotional stirring among the souls of blacks but it has caused unnecessary racial tension instead of the desire to find a solution to put an end to the voter fraud acts that have been committed across the country.
During Obama’s presidency, key members of the Obama administration have displayed an incredible lack of civility. Vice President Joe Biden, while speaking to a predominately black audience at a campaign stop in southern Virginia, promoted the notion that Mitt Romney and Republicans wanted to put them back in “chains.” Using a slavery reference to achieve a political talking point is disgusting and classless and unbecoming of the second highest elected official in the United States. Acts like these try to paint black Americans as continual victims and are not helpful in progressing race relations.
Black Conservatives have seen their sense of empowerment and influence mocked and ridiculed through the presence of social media as well. While it is quite the norm for the usual racial slurs of “Uncle Tom”, “sellout” and “house negro” to be applied to black conservatives, Obama supporters took racism and hateful language to a whole new level when a group of them called for the killing of blacks who support Mitt Romney.
Whether it’s actress Stacey Dash, former 2008 Obama Co-Chairman Artur Davis, or a blogger like myself, blacks who come out in support of conservative principles are consistently and completely demonized and ostracized. This isn’t quite the post-racial America that many had in mind.
