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


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: Reporting the News in the Heartland of Empire, William Worthy, 1970
    21 Jan 2026
    “From journalists…the greatest need of the moment is sound analysis of the U.S. empire and the focusing of the news spotlight on its far-flung sinister operations.”
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Operation Piracy or Pedophile Protection, mates?
    21 Jan 2026
    "Operation Piracy or Pedophile Protection, mates?" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Dr. Gerald Horne , Anthony Ballas
    Shadowboxing with Ghosts: Whiteness, Jake Paul, and the Crisis of U.S. Imperialism
    21 Jan 2026
    Jake Paul’s ascent in boxing is a cultural symptom of an empire in decline. It reflects a country that now prefers empty spectacle over real strength, both in sports and on the world stage.
  • Jacqueline Luqman
    Effective Organizing Requires Understanding Theory. That's Not A Hypothesis
    21 Jan 2026
    To dismiss revolutionary theory is to choose permanent defeat, reducing the movement to a hamster wheel of reaction and co-opted rage.
  • Anthony Rogers-Wright
    Preserving the Legacy of Martin Luther King and The Black Radical Tradition Requires Saving Both from the Congressional Black Caucus More than from white moderates and white supremacists (Or, I said what I said)
    21 Jan 2026
    Preserving the Black Radical Tradition demands struggle not only against white supremacists, but also against the co-opted Black political class who actively support the very evils Dr. King named.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us