Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Anthony Monteiro in Harlem, May 31, 2009, When Obama Won, Did We?
Bill Quigley
10 Jun 2009
🖨️ Print Article

If no video is visible above, click here.  Was the election of the nation's First Black President a victory for our people in the long struggle against racism and empire? Or does it simply mark a change in establishment tactics that will make it even more difficult to press the case for economic justice, and an end to militarism and racism? Professor Anthnoy Monteiro, Distinguished Lecturer in African-American Studies and Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought at Temple University tells us the answer is easy to see, but hard to swallow.

 

In this brief talk at a Harlem event commemorating the life of Hubert Harrison, one of the pre-eminent black activists of the early 20th century, Monteiro expertly discerns the wreckage of our political landscape, and divines the difference between popular myth and facts on the ground. “

Obama's victory, he suggests, was the transient and temporary victory of marketing, symbolizing neither a new acceptance of black America's strivings on behalf of white America and her establishment, nor of rising black power. Go to the prisons in this country and tell us we have transcended race...” Monteiro demands. And while the black turnout in last November's presidential election was unprecedentedly high, turnout in the mayoral elections of Detroit and Philly, majority black cities for the better part of two generations, was well under 20%. So while black people were sold on Barack Obama, they have yet to be sold on the overall legitimacy of the American political system.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Ramzy Baroud
    Solidarity Is Not Enough
    19 Aug 2026
    Why the world must force accountability on Gaza now.
  • Hedelberto López Blanch
    A Shady Figure Will Preside Over Colombia
    19 Aug 2026
    Colombia's new president has ties to paramilitaries and drug traffickers, but Trump's endorsement swept his crimes aside as he embraces Washington's agenda, including enhancing relations with Israel…
  • Luis Britto García
    Venezuela Is Not Iran
    19 Aug 2026
    Venezuela is not Iran or Cuba, but those nations teach us that sovereignty is not given but is obtained through resistance. Venezuela must forge its own path toward sovereignty.
  • Natalia Junquera , Elena Reina
    Fergie Chambers, the Millionaire Activist Arrested in Ibiza: “I am a human rights advocate”
    19 Aug 2026
    The American's lawyers, led by Baltasar Garzón, denounce a "political persecution" by Trump for his support of Palestine. The government will have to decide whether to extradite him.
  • x
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Racist Policies End TPS and Criminalize Haitian Immigrants
    14 Aug 2026
    The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration cancellation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. TPS holders can no longer work legally, are…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us