Obama has failed victims of racism and police brutality
Police and black Americans: a relationship worse than in the 90s Al Sharpton A long and deep legacy of white supremacy has always arrested the development of US democracy. We either hit it head on, or it comes back to haunt us. Thats why a few of us have pressed the president for seven years not to ignore issues of poverty, police abuse and mass unemployment. Barack Obama <http://time.com/4397600/obama-alton-sterling-philando-castile-speech-transc ript/> said it very well, following the shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, that some communities have been forgotten by all of us. And now in Dallas, Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights and beyond this legacy has comes back to haunt the whole country. Obama and his cheerleaders should take responsibility for being so reluctant to engage with these issues. Its not a question of interest group or constituencies. Unfortunately for so much of the Obama administration its been a question of Im not the president of black people, Im the president of everyone. But this is a question of justice. Its about being concerned about racism and police brutality. I have deep empathy for brothers and sisters who are shot in the police force. I also have profound empathy for people of color who are shot by the police. I have always believed deliberate killing to be a crime against humanity. Yet, Obama didnt go to Baton Rouge. He didnt go to Minneapolis. He flew over their heads to go to Dallas. You cant do that. His fundamental concern was to speak to the police, that was his priority. When he references the <https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/black-lives-matter-movement> Black Lives Matter movement, its to speak to the police. But the people who are struggling have a different perspective. The very notion that Dallas is the paragon of policing is something that needs to be interrogated. The Dallas mayor said we have done nothing wrong, but look at your history. Ask people in southern Dallas about the police. Ask <http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20131014-dallas-police-officer-not-ind icted-in-fatal-shooting.ece> Clinton Allen, an unarmed black man fatally shot by the Dallas police in 2013. I was with his mother, Collette Flanagan, the founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality, last year. Countless people came up and told us about all the struggles black communities are having with the Dallas police. Unfortunately, Obama thrives on being in the middle. He has no backbone to fight for justice. He likes to be above the fray. But for those us us who are in the fray, there is a different sensibility. You have to choose which side youre on, and he doesnt want to do that. Fundamentally, hes not a love warrior. Hes a polished professional. Martin Luther King Jr, Adam Clayton Powell Jr and Ella Baker they were warriors. Obamas attitude is that of a neo-liberal, and they rarely have solidarity with poor and working people. Whatever solidarity he does offer is just lip-service to suffering but he never makes it a priority to end that suffering. Obama has power right now to enact the recommendations made after Ferguson. Better training, independent civilian oversight boards, body cameras. But he has not used executive orders to push any of these changes through. This November, we need change. Yet we are tied in a choice between Trump, who would be a neo-fascist catastrophe, and Clinton, a neo-liberal disaster. Thats why I am supporting Jill Stein. I am with her the only progressive woman in the race because weve got to get beyond this lock-jaw situation. I have a deep love for my brother Bernie Sanders, but I disagree with him on Hillary Clinton. I dont think she would be an outstanding president. Her militarism makes the world a less safe place. Clinton policies of the 1990s generated inequality, mass incarceration, privatization of schools and Wall Street domination. There is also a sense that the Clinton policies helped produce the right-wing populism that were seeing now in the country. And we think shes going to come to the rescue? Thats not going to happen. The American empire is in deep spiritual decline and cultural decay. The levels of wealth inequality and environmental degradation is grotesque. The correct response to this is: tell the truth about what is going on. Bear witness. Be willing to go to jail to fight for justice if need be. When the system is declining, it can bring despair. Thats why Black Lives Matter and all other young people of all colors who are mobilizing is a beautiful thing. We are having a moral and spiritual awakening. It gives us democratic hope. Its not about having hope but being hope. Its time to move from being spectators, to being actors. EM On the 49th Parallel Thé Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy" Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi "Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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