History Versus Hillary
history is being made in this campaign. why are we afraid to say so?
2008-08-26
By Del Walters

History was made inside the Pepsi Center last night but you wouldn’t notice it from the coverage here. Not since The Cosby Show and the Huxtables has a black family been so celebrated in front of millions of American’s, but despite that, the focus was not on the fact that America embraced a black family and the possibility of its first black president, but instead they focused on the woman who lost. The media focused on Hillary Clinton. 

“Will Hillary Clinton steal the show?” pundits could be overheard saying.  

“What will Bill Clinton say, when he delivers his address?”

The simple fact is, by not talking about Barack Obama’s blackness, which is by all accounts inescapable, black America has already lost one of, if not the most significant event in African American history.  Make no mistake about it Rosa Parks protests led to this moment… Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’ led to this moment…every significant achievement in the African American civil rights struggle has led to this moment, and yet among African Americans here there is little or no mention of the fact that history is being made. Black history has been hijacked by the fear that celebrating this milestone in black history will alienate the same America that has stopped any and all blacks from reaching this plateau.

Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia says,”He has to win first before history can be written!”  While others, including former Maryland Congressman Kweisi Mfume, maintain black history has not been lost but simply put on hold.

Oprah’s best friend Gayle King, however, did not hold back on her enthusiastic support of Barack Obama.  King made no secret of the fact that history was being made inside the Pepsi Center, black history.  Gayle King made no secret of her pride in the fact that history was being made.  “I get bumps when I hear him speak,” she told reporters.

The fear factor:

Sadly, the predominant argument is that to expose Barack Obama’s blackness will hurt him in the general election.  Many fear that by playing up the fact that black history is being written before our very eyes, white America will feel alienated and not vote.  Those people obviously haven’t listened to a second of the non-stop talk radio chatter that is painting Barack Obama as every imaginable evil.  They say he is a closet Muslim, they say he was secretly raised in extremist schools as a child, they say he is black.  The only people, who seem afraid to discuss Barack Obama’s blackness, are democrats and blacks and that flies in the face of conventional wisdom.

Take Michelle Obama’s speech last night.  America watched and listened in the same intense manner that they cheered for Dominique Dawes at the Olympics when she was part of the Magnificent Seven.  American cheered for Michelle Obama last night the same way ratings soar when Tiger Woods sinks a final put at The Masters.  Americans cheered for Michelle Obama the same way they cheered for Michael Jordan when he led the Chicago Bulls to NBA history…the same way they cheer for Oprah, and Usher, and Maya Angelou, and all of the other black icons that have become part of our everyday dialogue.  So what is the problem?

The problem with the message according to some is the messenger, or lack thereof.  “There is not a single major network news person here who is African American, “remarked Barbara Ciara, president of the National Association of Black Journalists who is attending the convention.  Not only that, she also says the majority of her members are MIA as well. 

A check of my own past associates in the broadcast industry reveals a plethora of excuses ranging from shrinking budgets in newsrooms to apathy on the part of the remaining black press. Here, however, is the bottom line.  Black newsmen of prominence are missing in action in Denver during one of the most significant events of the civil rights movement.

That is not to say black America is missing. It is not.  Veteran campaign watchers say there are more African Americans in prominent positions in this convention than any other in convention history.  Blacks who are exercising their political power in the back rooms, and economic power on the streets of Denver can be seen everywhere.  Having recently attended the conventions of the AKA’s, Delta’s , and Jack and Jill organizations I can attest to the fact that African Americans are well represented.  And so, as always, is white America which brings us back to Hillary.

Everyone has an opinion on what Hillary Clinton will say or should say when she addresses the faithful this evening.  Some speak directly from the Democratic talking points and say she will tow the party line.  Others are less certain and worry she is already campaigning for the 2012 elections.  Whatever she says, she has already succeeded in robbing black America of one of the most significant events in its history.  Last night, before a packed convention center, an African American female was embraced by the Democratic Party, and the world watched as she, her husband, and children proved black Americans are as much a part of the fabric of this great nation as those other people on the dollar bill. America. Martin’s dream came to life last night…but because of fear and the Hillary factor, black history wound up being hijacked.

Only Ted Kennedy mentioned that the dream lives on.

Del Walters is an Emmy award-winning investigative reporter, filmmaker and author.