It is a rite of passage for elementary schoolchildren to write a letter to a new President expressing their hopes and wishes for his administration. For rap artists, President Ronald Reagan inspired them to raise their voices in “Letter to the President,” a powerful documentary that chronicles rap music’s passage as “music for a cause” at the height of Reaganism.
The film, narrated by Snoop Dogg, captures the downward trajectory of African Americans during the Reagan era. Community activist Davey D observed:
His economic policies were designed to decimate entire swatches of the black community and the inner city. And they did.
The film immediately came to mind when I read “An Open Letter to Barack Obama.” The letter calls on Obama “to stand firm on the principles he so compellingly articulated in the primary campaign”:
Since your historic victory in the primary, there have been troubling signs that you are moving away from the core commitments shared by many who have supported your campaign, toward a more cautious and centrist stance--including, most notably, your vote for the FISA legislation granting telecom companies immunity from prosecution for illegal wiretapping, which angered and dismayed so many of your supporters.
We recognize that compromise is necessary in any democracy. We understand that the pressures brought to bear on those seeking the highest office are intense. But retreating from the stands that have been the signature of your campaign will weaken the movement whose vigorous backing you need in order to win and then deliver the change you have promised.
The letter is signed by some of the usual suspects and one suspect Obama delegate, Norman Solomon (h/t National Review Online).
BTW, if you’re in the Big Apple on Aug. 17, there will be a voter registration drive and screening of “Letter to the President” in St. Nicholas Park.
