Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Obama's Triumph in Selma - Vol. 3 Issue 32

With his speech in Selma, Alabama, Barack Obama has now proven that his current status as a “shooting star” is no accident. On Sunday, In front of a who’s who of civil rights pioneers, he brilliantly put to rest any doubts about his authentic “blackness” and his connectedness to the generation of Martin Luther King. “I stand on the shoulders of giants. Because they marched, I stand before you today.” Obama’s Selma speech may go down as THE turning point in his contest with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. There was a palpable feeling of joy and acceptance from the influential black audience that included dozens of black office-holders and national civil rights leaders.

Among other things, Obama touched on the Bush administration’s terrible Justice Department policy of threatening to sue Colleges and Universities for so-called “reverse discrimination.” The Bush policies would be humorous if they were not so perniciously racist. Obama went on to speak of the “empathy gap,” as demonstrated by the Federal government’s pathetic response to Katrina. Then he discussed the “hope gap.” The inability of the public sector to provide sufficient opportunities to all Americans has caused a state of hopelessness among working-class poor and the lower middle-class. Then, he came to the critical question: What must be done? Senator Obama set forth his proposed presidential agenda for passage by Congress, including: an increase in early education funding, minimum wage raise, health care, rehabilitation of prisoners. His message was blunt. “We need a government that is responsive to these needs.”

Then came the climax: “We must stop asking what the government can do for us and ask what we can do for ourselves.” Obama made a plea for adequate funding for education coupled with parental responsibility. He drove the point home, “We’ve got to do things for ourselves. We can do that. Take off your bedroom slippers and put on your marching shoes!” His conclusion was classically religious, “God Bless you.” It was an electric moment in American politics and it was a long time coming.

With faith in future, I remain

Savant

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