Are Blacks NOT Supporting Obama Because He IS Black?

I must admit, I am excited at the prospect of having a black president. Polls show that Sen. Obama has picked up significant momentum since his surprising win in Iowa. So much so that polls in New Hampshire leading into the primary tomorrow show Obama leading Sen. Clinton and John Edwards by double digits. This gives me a bit of hope as I think I’ve secretly rooted for Obama, yet publicly denied my inward choice I think more in fear that people would assume I was supporting Obama because he was black. It cause me to question if I was indeed supporting him simply on the color of his skin

I will admit first hand that I am a black nationalist. I believe that we should be an empowered, viable involved block of American change creators. In addition, I believe we should have industries which we dominate, have a strong sense of cultural identity, and a genuine interest in provided support and empowerment to people of color around the world. So when a viable African-American candidate appeared, my interest was sincerely piqued.

I found myself withholding my support for the freshman senator from Illinois until I knew more about his political standings. In the grand scheme of things if you are bold enough to involve yourself in the political process your decision of support is a gamble at best, so I at least like to make an educated guess. I know in the grand state of TX, thanks to the Electoral College my vote will fall by the wayside with the other democratic votes in the state, but alas, I will rant about the Electoral College at another time.

So many potential African-American voters feel entirely disenfranchised by the system that they simply refuse to participate in the process. I am a bit of a skeptic as well, but feel it disrespectful to my ancestors to not at least try to participate in the political system in which they valued to the point of their lives. At the same time I am not naïve enough not to notice that special interest groups, million dollar lobbyist and corporate money really make the decision in this country. Oftentimes though, the best attack comes from within. (When's the last time you had the flu?)

All those factors brings me to the current environment in which Barack now runs in regards to the people who would seem most likely to support his candidacy. There is a sect of people who just don’t like politics, they won’t be involved, period. There are the bandwagoneers who will gladly throw every ounce of support they have at Barack once it looks like he REALLY has a chance at winning. There are also those who are like me, who were hesitant or are still hesitant to support Barack simply because it will be assumed they are supporting him because he’s black. To those I’d say, investigate him as a person, review his platform and get to know him for how he presents himself (as well as how consistently that image is portrayed). Compare him with the other candidates. Once your curiosity is fulfilled, if you truly believe with the evidence you’ve reviewed that he can handle the job, support him. Release yourself from the appearances of bias. When you walk behind the curtain ,it’s only you, the booth (and Diebold. Again, that’s a subject for another day.)