Is Barack Obama Good For Black People? The Great Debate in Harlem, Part 2 of 2 | Black Agenda Report

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

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
MANIFESTO: A Call to Workers and Peasants of Curacao, 1932
19 Apr 2023
Reparations for slavery? What about imperialism? A 1932 statement on Dutch imperialism as the exploiter of the masses of Curaçao suggests why.
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Tennessee Three speak in We
19 Apr 2023
…
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Malcolm Harris’s Book, “Palo Alto”
19 Apr 2023
This week’s featured author is Malcolm Harris. Harris is a freelance writer and the author of Kids These Days: The Making of Millennials and Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit: History Since the End of…
Jon Jeter
Modern Day Reconstruction and Tennessee's Expulsion of Black Lawmakers
19 Apr 2023
The temporary expulsion of two Black Tennessee legislators was a reminder of why even a tiny semblance of Black political independence is feared and hated. The expressions of support from …
Jacqueline Luqman
Apologies Not Accepted - Or I Love It When The Universe Proves Me Right
19 Apr 2023
Jacqueline Luqman was vilified for pointing out a simple fact. Black people will not make common cause with racists and bigots. Racists do not get a pass because they call themselves anti-war.