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

Is Barack Obama Good For Black People? The Great Debate in Harlem, Part 2 of 2
Bill Quigley
12 Aug 2009
🖨️ Print Article
On June 25, hundreds of black America's formost thnkers and doers gathered at St. Mary's Church in Harlem NY to ask and answer the question of whether Barack Obama was good or bad for black America. We here present some of the 5 to 7 minute presentations pro and con on whether Barack Obama is good for black America. Click the flash players to listen to or the mics to download them in MP3 format.

Glen Ford

The fact, says Dr. Jared Ball of Morgan State University and voxunion.com, is that Barack Obama did not emerge from the struggle of our people for peace and justice.  He has been imposed upon us by outside forces in answer to that struggle, not in fulfillment of it..

Charles Barron

 

While NY City Councilman Charles Barron disagrees with some of Obama's policies, he seems to draw a line around those who disagree with the president, calling them “intellectuals” who he says, do the hood no good.

 

Dr. Marimba Ani

Give the brotha a break?  Dr. Marimba Ani doesn't think we should give the American empire a break.  If anything, she notes, having a black man sitting in the big chair makes it harder to fight.

Charles Barron

 

argues that Barack Obama represents incremental but significant change, and even though the election was eight months ago, reaches back to compare Obama with McCain.

 

 

Viola Plummer

Barack Obama is a “yes we can” symbol of national unity for black people, says Viola Plummer.

.

 

Diop Olugbala

 

 

The Uhuru Movement's Diop Olugbala argues that a lesser evil is still quite evil. We can, he insists, do better.

 

Click here for part one of the Great Debate in Harlem, with Glen Ford, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Nellie Bailey and Dr. Gloria Browne Marshall

 

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


More Stories


  • Blacks Need to Rethink “Positive” Images in a Racist Country
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Blacks Need to Rethink “Positive” Images in a Racist Country
    29 Jun 2020
    A segment of African Americans has long been obsessed with promoting images that are positive representations of The Race, but recurring police atrocities show the necessity to “expose the regime o
  •  Inequality: The American Ethos
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Inequality: The American Ethos
    29 Jun 2020
    The US has historically been a place where “fairness is adjudicated unevenly, it’s based on inequality” in which “certain people deserve more than others,” said Ampson Hagan,
  • Yes, Defund the Cops – And Put Them Under Community Control
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    Yes, Defund the Cops – And Put Them Under Community Control
    25 Jun 2020
    Community control of the police means empowering the people to shape and oversee the mechanisms of their own security and end forever the armed occupation of our communities by hostile forces.
  • Freedom Rider: Democrats Move Right and Towards Defeat
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Democrats Move Right and Towards Defeat
    24 Jun 2020
    Besides not being Trump, the Democrats offer nothing, but think they can win with a candidate who has no constituency, charisma or any platform positions that would attract more voters.
  • The Movement to Abolish the Police Must Place Politics in Command
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Movement to Abolish the Police Must Place Politics in Command
    24 Jun 2020
    Community control of the police offers a concrete vision for what the beginnings of police abolition might look like.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us