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


  • Africa’s Response to the George Floyd Murder
    Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, BAR editor and columnist
    Africa’s Response to the George Floyd Murder
    10 Jun 2020
    Outrage towards the US emanated from the Congo, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, all condemning the killing.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    10 Jun 2020
    This week police brutality and racism in the United States and Brazil were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: Elizabeth R. Baer’s “The Genocidal Gaze”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Elizabeth R. Baer’s “The Genocidal Gaze”
    10 Jun 2020
    In Southwest Africa the Germans devised the methodology which they would re-use in the Holocaust thirty years later.  
  • BAR Book Forum: Douglas Flowe’s “Uncontrollable Blackness”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Douglas Flowe’s “Uncontrollable Blackness”
    10 Jun 2020
    Black men are besieged by an American crucible uniquely designed for them in the early twentieth century.
  • White Images, Black Reality: How to Talk to the Accidental Apologists for Monsters
    Earl Hazell
    White Images, Black Reality: How to Talk to the Accidental Apologists for Monsters
    10 Jun 2020
    The author offers some thoughts on how to deal with white people that seek to dominate Black political discussion on social media. 
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us