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Presidents’ Day 2018

I am a museum lover. Before the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Portrait Gallery was my favorite Smithsonian museum. It’s now my second museum. When Barack Obama won the 2008 election, I thought that he will be included in the pantheon of American Presidents.

President Obama’s portrait was unveiled last week.

In an email, Obama wrote:

Today, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald became the first black artists to create official, Smithsonian-commissioned portraits of a former President and First Lady.

And Michelle and I joined our distinguished predecessors and thousands of our fellow Americans on the walls of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

To call this experience humbling would be an understatement.

That’s because, as a former president, when you choose an artist to describe your likeness, you have the opportunity to shape, quite literally, how someone sees the office of the American presidency. And how they might see themselves in that presidency.

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The arts have always been central to the American experience. They provoke thought, challenge our assumptions, and shape how we define our narrative as a country.

Thanks to Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, generations of Americans — and young people from all around the world — will visit the National Portrait Gallery and see this country through a new lens. These works upend the notion that there are worlds where African Americans belong and worlds where we don’t. And that’s something Michelle and I hope we contributed to over the eight years we were so privileged to serve you from the White House.

Michelle Obama’s portrait will join the collection of First Ladies.

In case you missed it, check out “Obama Portrait Unveiling at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.”

Race and Smiley Faces

I have long since tuned out the Sunday talk shows. But yesterday I tuned in to “Meet the Press” because my friend, Harvard Law Prof. Charles Ogletree, was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion on "Race and Justice in America."

The other panel members were Congressional Black Caucus Chair Marcia Fudge, Marc Morial, Michael Steele and Tavis Smiley.

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With all due respect to Ogletree, black folks know Obama is not “the black president.” That said, African American voters did not turn out in record numbers in 2008 and 2012 to vote for a candidate who “happens to be black.” While they don’t want Obama to “simply focus on one issue,” they do want him to focus on issues that disproportionately impact them.

As they say, a broken clock is right twice a day. Smiley rightly noted that Presidents Lincoln, Truman and Johnson addressed the issue of race. He also noted that Obama has addressed gay marriage, an issue of importance to the LGBT community.

I think Obama should be held to the same standard of accountability as previous occupants of the Oval Office. But Smiley’s criticism that Obama “was pushed” is mindless:

He did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation; he was pushed to that podium. A week of protest outside the White House, pressure building on him inside the White House pushed him to that podium. So I'm glad he finally arrived.

Smiley fancies himself a student of history so he should be mindful of President Roosevelt’s call to action:

I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it.

Gays, Hispanics, Jewish Americans and other groups “made” Obama address their concerns by staying engaged beyond Election Day. They embraced the lessons of our history and continued to “agitate, agitate.”

As for Tavis, history tells us that “smiling faces sometimes they don’t tell the truth.”

Yo, Corbett Administration Still Lying

The Corbett Administration has invoked the specious allegation of “voter intimidation” by the New Black Panthers as a pretext for not turning over documents in Pennsylvania’s voter suppression by voter ID scheme.

In a letter to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Pennsylvania General Counsel James Schultz wrote:

Upon my initial review of your letter, I was optimistic that surely your inquiry marked the long overdue renewal of the Department of Justice’s previously abandoned review of the 2008 voter intimidation case in Philly, a review that would be particularly well-timed in this presidential election year, as I trust Attorney General Holder and the Department of Justice share the Commonwealth’s commitment to ensuring that no violation of the voting rights of Pennsylvanians be tolerated. Unfortunately, my optimism proved unwarranted as I read your letter and learned that you are requesting information “concerning Pennsylvania’s compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”

The minor incident involving three knuckleheads was captured on video on Election Day 2008, It has since been played in an endless loop by Fox News. Unfortunately, there’s no countervailing data to rebut the Big Lie of voter intimidation.

But this time, we’ll be ready for them. I am developing an app, Yo! Philly Votes, that will aggregate and visualize multiple sources of real-time Election Day incident reports. Using software developed by Jon Gosier, we’ll be able to contextualize the sources of reports.

If Yo! Philly Votes had been around in 2008, we would have real-time data that the eyewitness to the incident, Chris Hill,a Republican activist, was at the polling place for an hour and did not see any voters turned away. There were no other reports of voter intimidation.  If the source of the incident report had been considered, the bogus story would have remained just that – bogus. Instead, made-for-Fox-News story became a justification for election law changes that have been enacted across the country, including Pennsylvania's restrictive voter ID law.

For more information, visit Facebook.com/PhillyVotes or follow us on Twitter: @215votes.

Race Relations in the Age of Obama

Two new polls show race still matters.

A Zogby Interactive poll found that 45 percent of likely voters say race relations “have worsened over the two years that Barack Obama has been president.” Thirty-seven percent say there is “no difference”; a mere 13 percent believe race relations have improved.

Similarly, a Washington Post poll found that 35 percent think race relations have improved in the Age of Obama, down from 58 percent in January 2009. Fifty-one percent of black Americans say Obama has helped race relations, down from 75 percent on Inauguration Day.

There is a racial gap in whether African Americans overall have moved on up. The Post reports:

Almost half of whites say that blacks have achieved racial parity, up significantly since Obama's inauguration two years ago. By contrast, views among African Americans have barely budged since Obama took office: Just 19 percent of blacks now see a level playing field. Then, as now, about half say racial equality either won't be achieved in their lifetimes or never will be.

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In January 2009, most whites also anticipated Obama's bringing about a thaw in race relations; fewer than one in three now sees such progress. Among whites, 47 percent say racial equality has been achieved, up nine points over the two years.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

A Black Agenda? Yes, We Can!

I viewed a live stream of the latest iteration of Tavis Smiley’s talkfest, “We Count! The Black Agenda is the American Agenda.”

Given the givens, I expected little more than infotainment. So, I was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful critique of President Barack Obama and the proposed solutions to the jobless crisis in the African American community.

It’s a reflection of black folks’ confusion in the Age of Obama that African American scholars, thought leaders and political influentials have to defend answering the question: Is there a need for a black agenda?

By contrast, Latino leaders and illegal immigrant advocates show no such confusion. They criticize Obama without apology. And they have the audacity to march on Washington and demand that Obama focus on their agenda ahora.

 
Though I oppose comprehensive immigration reform amnesty, I agree with the open borders crowd: Change takes courage.

Chicago alderman Dorothy Tillman, an early supporter of then-candidate Barack Obama, observed:

We have a responsibility to bring the question to the President of the United States. When you look at black people today, I’ve never seen black folks so fearful and scared. Black folks are in pain. And this is the first time since we’ve been in this country that we’ve been in pain and scared to do something about it.

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When Obama says a rising tide lifts all boats, he means it. But the descendants of enslaved Africans have a different experience . . . When it comes to blacks, they tell us to shut up.

Georgetown Prof. Michael Eric Dyson refuses to shut up. Dyson reminded Obama that he’s an American, too:

You are the president of everybody. That includes me. I’m from Detroit. I don’t have to be white to be part of America.

Dyson added:

Latinos asked for something, and they got something. Gays and lesbians said: “Don’t ask, don’t tell, change it.” Our Jewish brothers and sisters said, “Deal with Israel,” you deal with them.

Why is it when it comes to Negroes . . . when it comes to black folks, we are suddenly persona non grata? I tell you that every president before you has had to deal with the black agenda. How are you going to be any different?

The panelists’ criticism was cloaked “in love.” But what’s love got to do with it.

The issue is whether African Americans will remain silent and hope “a rising economic tide for all will lift African-American boats.”

Obama’s FY 2011 budget, meanwhile, provides funds to “expand opportunities” for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The bottom line: Constituency groups, including women, Asian and Pacific Islanders and Native Americans, are not waiting. They are demanding that Obama focus on their agenda. Right now.

Let’s Remind Obama

President Barack Obama was scheduled to meet with Senators Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham on Monday.

During a press gaggle aboard Air Force One, Bill Burton, the deputy White House press secretary, said the purpose of the meeting was to get an “update”:

It’s as simple as getting an update from them on efforts to create bipartisan immigration legislation.

The now-canceled meeting would have come on the heels of congressional visits by Latino leaders and activists.

Immigration reform is a top priority for Latino leaders who unfailingly remind Obama he received 67 percent of their vote.

Latinos are looking for more than an update. Clarissa Martínez De Castro, director of Immigration and National Campaigns at the National Council of La Raza, writes:

But let’s be clear. If the meeting is just to “hear more,” it’s not going to cut it. ...

With the Congressional legislative runway getting crowded and time running out before the November elections, it is time to land this plane. Monday’s meeting must be followed by a clear, bipartisan proposal and a firm timeline for Senate action. Anything less will be regarded as more stalling by the tens of thousands coming to DC to march in two weeks.

Latinos’ model for civic engagement and accountability should be replicated by African American leaders and activists. It bears remembering that Obama received 95 percent of the black vote.

Black leaders must remind him that he promised minority entrepreneurs that “help is on the way”:

Don’t wait. People have to continue to innovate, look for new customers, try to find creative ways to turn crisis into opportunity, retool for the future. But I want them to know that help is on the way.

Most states, if not all the states, have provisions in place to ensure minority, women and small businesses participation. We expect states to abide by their local rules. Obviously, federal rules are going to pertain as well when it comes to, for example, making federal buildings more energy efficient. Should that be part of the package, we’re going to be very clear about making sure that goals are set that ensure participation of every type of business imaginable.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports:

Hispanic and black businesses are receiving a disproportionately small number of federal stimulus contracts, creating a rising chorus of demands for the Obama administration to be more inclusive and more closely track who receives government-financed work.

Latinos and blacks have faced obstacles to winning government contracts long before the stimulus. They own 6.8 and 5.2 percent of all businesses, respectively, according to census figures. Yet Latino-owned business have received only 1.7 percent of $46 billion in federal stimulus contracts recorded in U.S. government data, and black-owned businesses have received just 1.1 percent.

Imagine that.

Mr. President, It’s Cold on Main Street

President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight. Obama will propose a three-year freeze on “non-security” discretionary spending to rein in the federal deficit.

Never mind that candidate Obama said “the problem with a spending freeze is you’re using a hatchet where you need a scalpel.”

Bottom line: Obama was against a spending freeze before he was for it.

A proposed spending freeze leaves former Labor Secretary Robert Reich cold:

The bigger news is Obama is planning a three-year budget freeze on a big chunk of discretionary spending. Wall Street is delighted. But it means Main Street is in worse trouble than ever.

A pending freeze will make it even harder to get jobs back because government is the last spender around. Consumers have pulled back, investors won't do much until they know consumers are out there, and exports are miniscule.

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His three-year freeze on a large portion of discretionary spending will make it impossible for him to do much of anything for the middle class that’s important. Chalk up another win for Wall Street, another loss for Main.

During a recent economic recovery workshop Ryan Sweet, a senior economist with Moody’s Economy.com made a similar warning about the risk of cutting back on government spending:

A self-sustaining expansion will only happen if stimulus spending is not withdrawn too quickly.