Submitted by Yardbroom
It is reasonable to ask how could I use the word “revolution” in reference to Barack Obama’s victory in the American presidential elections, particularly when he was elected in a democratic process. I have used the word revolution here to mean: “a far reaching and drastic change, in ideas or methods.” I must therefore establish by evidence this far reaching change in ideas or methods, which I have made the main focus of this submission. May I also add this revolution although about black people or people of colour, is also about how they – black people or people of colour – are perceived.
At the beginning of the 20th century there was conflict about the right procedure to adopt for the advancement of black people in America. This disagreement was not confined to W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) and Brooker .T. Washington (1856 -1915) only, but it cannot be denied they had a major input in the ideas and methods thought necessary, to advance the aspirations of black people. It was Du Bois who formed the NAACP ( National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People ) which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Brooker T Washington started the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, (now Tuskegee University) which concentrated on the teaching of skills to black people to give them a worthwhile occupation and an avenue to progress.
Du Bois advanced the view that injustices suffered by black people should be confronted, there should be no compromise. Brooker .T. was all for advancement but it was limited, as he suggested black people should not over-reach themselves, but concentrate on what was within their compass. We should be careful not to be trenchant in our condemnation of both men as we must take cognizance of the attitudes prevalent in that period. Du Bois had no such restriction and he was scathing of Brooker .T, calling him the “Great Accommodator.” Those whose imagination was able to leap the period in which they lived should be accorded special admiration, it would be disingenuous therefore not to give some praise to Du Bois who felt that black people were capable of anything the whites were, and with his intellectual acumen, he was sure of the ground on which he stood.
Brooker T. said confrontation was suicidal: “that confrontation would lead to disaster of the outnumbered blacks.”
Nevertheless confrontation was still advocated at a later period by Elijah Muhammed ( 1897-1975) leader of the Black Muslims, the teacher of Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan. He even went further preaching the Black Separatist Doctrine. This led him to instruct his followers to avoid the Draft, advice which resulted in a sentence of 4 years in a federal prison.
It is easy to see that the confrontational aspects of W.B. Du Bois’ ideology had some merit, but it could not deliver all that blacks wanted. However, the idea that they – blacks – were capable of, and therefore should aim for the highest positions in the land which they were intellectually capable, was not a pipe dream.
Brooker. T’s idea that confrontation is suicidal was later proved with the Black Panthers. This is not to suggest that the Black Panthers and the Black Power period had no impact, as they surely highlighted the frustrations of black people to injustices. Particularly those in the deep South who were denied the vote and had the colour bar to contend with.
How was this chasm to be bridged.
Dr Martin Luther King (1929-1968) a Baptist Minister was able to garner “liberal white” support for his Non Violent campaigns. The sight of a large number of whites marching, protesting and putting themselves at risk under a black banner changed the dynamics of the situation. Although the “non-violent” aspect of this movement was rejected by some blacks, the ability of the movement to muster a high level of white support was a turning point in race relations in the U.S.A. The boy – Brooker.T. Washington- born into slavery of a black single mother and a white father was not “completely wrong.”
So sure was Dr. Martin Luther King that race relations would improve in the U.S.A. that he was able to prophesy on 28th August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington:…“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”…
Thus the groundwork for Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign was laid. He introduced the idea of “change”. Not only change in the change of the Bush Administration and the way America viewed the world, and the way the world viewed America, but an undefined way in which black people should be seen and regarded. This change as far as “most” blacks were concerned was diametrically opposed to the separation advocated by Elijah Muhammed and the trenchant confrontation of W.D. Du Bois. It was also a rejection of a craven attitude and “some” aspects of what was advocated by Brooker . T. Washington. It naturally follows that the views of the Black Panthers and dare I say it, the idea of going back to Africa. The clarion call of Marcus Garvey are milestones along the way, but not totally accepted by the “majority” of blacks.
Although Dr. Martin Luther King was not mentioned in the inauguration speech, he stood like a colossus over the ceremony. There have been few times in history when an absence has been so overpowering. The unseen and unmentioned who was there.
The change which has enabled President Barack Obama to enter the White House was not sudden, it came over time. Nourished by free thinkers, stubborn men/women, violent men/women and even those with a subservient attitude, but mainly by those who had the wisdom to see that working together is better than working apart. There is much to be done, but the revolution has started.
Barack Obama is not a God, no intelligent person thinks he is, neither is he a Messiah, he is an ordinary person like all of us, but with a great intellect and the natural ability to lead. Most importantly others are prepared to follow him. He is black – he knows he is, and thinks he is – with a white mother, that is good enough for me.
In our euphoria – rightly so – at his achievement we must not forget those black bodies, whose skeletal remains are tangled in the weeds of swamps in the deep South. Others whose charred remains were grotesquely bent in churches purposely set alight. Young boys and girls who were spat on, kicked, beaten, felt the hot breath of baying dogs in their faces, as they walked scared amongst adult mobs, on entering segregated schools in the South, they all paid a price. Contributions also came from whites who with disregard for their personal safety in the dead of night, made bumpy progress motoring on dirt tracks, to support blacks in their efforts to vote, in the South, they too laid the ground work for Barack Obama’s revolution.