American Morning
Obama marks NAACP's 100th Anniversary
President Obama will be in New York tonight to address the NAACP convention, which marks their 100 year anniversary. It's a major address by the nation's first African-American president.
Just last year as a candidate, Barack Obama was both deferential and defiant before the civil rights group.
"I know there's some who been saying I've been too tough talking about responsibility. I'm here to report I'm not going to stop talking about it."
Taking on some of his African-American critics, President Obama delivered a message of tough love, echoed just last weekend in Ghana.
"We all know that the future of Africa is in the hand of Africans."
The historic election of the United States' first African American president highlights the NAACP's role in fighting for equality and opportunity.
NAACP President Ben Jealous says, "This is a big step that we've taken, having a black family in the White House, ending that 233-year-old color barrier. But there's a lot more work that needs to be done."
This after former President Bush kept the NAACP at arms length, declining their invitations to address them for 5 years.
Commentary: The NAACP at 100: Much more work to do
What do you think? Has President Obama met the Black community's expectations? What is the future of the NAACP? Has it achieved its goals? Tell us your thoughts.
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Besides, he is not black! He is like most of the American people!! Heinz 57! A little bit of this....a little bit of that! The race card was used as a cover to obtain the oval office! Hes only half...if that. He claims to be EVERYTHING including Muslim! He will be whatever he needs to be to get ur vote! Hes more Catholic than the pope, more muslim than a muslim, and takes credit for way too much in life! I was in Canada as a child, but it does NOT make me Canadian, people!
One is naive if he thinks that there is less discrimination today. Check the Labor department statistics.
Doris, there is a misconception taking place in the news these days and you are but one of the people a bit confused on this serious issue. The mess that this country is in has not much to do with the Bush admin.. not what they did or did not do! The cause for our downfall in the financial industry is here for a few reasons, but it just seem easier for this admin to go on making people like you think that it was a past admin. fault! I guess it may make it wasier when this presiden fails at what he is trying to do ...if he is just blaming the past presidential administrations! To be more thourough however, alot of the financial problems that we are seeing today is actually caused by a couple issues besides reckless spending! Bush really did not spend a fraction of what this administration is spending!! It was caused by OPEC....raising the costs of a barrel of oil when it was heading to the USA! It had caused inflation to set in!! The prices only kept going up! Could be why Bush was demanding that the prices DROP because he felt that the American People could not possibly pay for this and he feared what could happen to our economy in the end! #2... Acorn was and still remains to be a HUGE part of the problem! Most people think that they ARE the problem! They faught the banks to allow people who could not afford those home (minorities) low interest loans ...even tho they had no way of paying for it! Heck, they even allowed unemployeed illegal aliens have these loans also! It was NOT the Bush administration at all! It was the organization which went out of its way to get Obama into office! ACORN!! You should educate yourselves on Acorn ...and thier connection with THIS administration! This is the one organization that I fear will DESTROY the very stucture of our country! Also, I think that it is a terrible day when Acorn was put in charge of counting the votes of the American People and telling us who made it into office after elections are over! I do not think they can add when it comes to who THEY WANT IN OFFICE! You are all being misled! Do not believe everything that you hear! You are educated Americans!! Do Not allow this administration to mislead you. It just may cost us OUR COUNTRY in the end! Our freedoms are leaving!! It is NOT the fault of the past administration at all.... only a new administration who wishes for you to continue thinking this way! BUT ...I do think that we as a people, are a little smarter than that! Educate yourself on the issue. You just may end up being quite surprised in the end!
Oh, I am a registered Demo, by the way! I will NOT be by the next election! I hold too much love for my country to continue this path! You would be smart to do the same, before we lose the remaining freedoms that we have and are so far in debt with the tax load he is about to put on the American People!! (during a reccession?? Who in thier right mind, would place tax hikes like this on its people during the worst reccession in our history?? A total fool would!) The American people will lose! But, I have no fear! His wife will be getting more $6000 purses and $600 tennis shoes to wear to go feed the poor! What a smack in the faces of the American People! Please educate yourselves before it is much too late!
President Obama will have been in office for 6 months on July 20th. I can't understand why there is a question as to whether he has met the black community's expectations. The question as to whether he has met expectations for blacks, whites, asians, etc., should not even be on the table after six months. When President Obama took office, he told us that we didn't get in this situation over night and we won't get out of it overnight. He said it could take years for the country to get back on track. I'm a black american and I'm taking him at his words.
To shed some light as to why President Obama claims black as his race, it goes back to the slave laws where it stated if a person had any african blood in them, than they were "colored." To be honest most black Americans, including Rob Steele I bet, are multi-racial with some white in them. For example during the campaign, it was reported on CNN that John McCain has black cousins with the last name of McCain, who he doesn't acknowledge. One way the Republican party could prove that they are truly reaching out to the black community is to have John McCain, a major leader in the party, open up his arms and welcome his own family. As the saying goes, "charity starts at home."
I certainly do think the president is meeting the expectations of the African American population. He is not a miracle worker and his election alone is not going to change things over night.
The NAACP is definitely needed and I don't see it going away any time soon.
I think electing Ben Jealous is just the right person to keep the image of the NAACP with purpose and dignity.
It appears to me that the election of our wonderfully intelligent and qualified president has made the NAACP more relevent due to the racism that was under the surface, that has now risen to the top once again.
Hey Bernice & all other nut cases, In case you have been burying your heads in the sand, there are plenty of all white organizations trying to prevent equality for
blacks & all people of color. If people like you stop making up lies, such as "blacks don't consider themselves Americans", and get a human heart, everyone would be better off. Our ancestors were forced to come here, built up this country and we that are here now were born in American. It is from our blood, sweat, tears & our backs that whites became rich, educated, while denying us the same opportunities. Now we are still trying to play catch up with schools that get less funding, job prejudices – being given the more inferior jobs except for a few tokens so it looks as if we might have equality. Yes, I am proud of President Obama- Our forefathers built the white house. Jealousy & stupidity gets you no where – you have had all the advantages all these years & haven't done anything with it- that's your fault.. President Obama has done as much as can be expect & more for only 6 months in office. He tries to transcend race but people like Bernice with their closed & prejudiced minds are the ones who are unAmerican by disrespecting our president. Get over it, he has 7 1/2 more years to lead this country out of the mess Bush left him.
Exactly what does the NAACP now want? Do they want the President of the United State of America to discriminate against people of "other colors" than black? For years the African American community have screamed discrimination. Finally when it can be said that an African American can hold any job in the U.S. the NAACP expect the President to do more, just because he is black. Maybe it is time the NAACP takes off the blinders and begins to see our great country as a nation of "color", many "colors". African American men have accomplished more than Caucasian women have been able to in the past 100 years. Can't we just all call ourselves Americans and stop adding color into the equation? Is the NAACP really helping anyone these days? I just do not think we should ask President Obama to be racist.
President Obama has done an excellent job trying to clean up the mess the previous president has made. I find it apauling when people expect the economy to change overnight when it took 8 years to mess it up. How quickly we forget.
The average household is struggling to survive. I think people in Washington have been in Washington too long and have forgotten the "little peple" . President Obama knows what it means to have a little. They don't. We need health care, not $5000 and expect people to go buy outrageous insurance. What happens when the cash runs out with no jobs? Will they pick up the coverage? Will a homeless man know what to do with the money? Let's get real!
I'm an African American and I'm very proud of the progress the President has made. I feel confident that he will get us through this mess and that the country will be better than ever before.
He's a President for all, not just one race. I wish people would leave him alone and let him do his job. Of course if we didn't have people criticizing everything he did, there would be no news... YOU figure it out.
The previous President didn't speak to the NAACP. Thank you President Obama for being a President for all the people. Please note...he speaks for ALL groups!!!!!!!
I do not believe than anyone can meet the expectations of another, let alone a group. people always ask for more than is reasonable. However I do feel that Chairman Steele owes President Obama a big "Thank You" and hug. He would never have been chosen for his current position if Mr. Obama had not been elected President. It must really irk Mr. Steele in his heart to know that it was not his party's progressiveness that put him ahead but that they did not want to be perceived as being so far behind.
I have to say to a certain degree that is true, I lost my job for getting upset at manager for telling me to leave when I went on my day off to eat there, however, the BLACK employee can walk in drunk and out of it and still have HIS job. I could not afford to loose that job especially NOW. I no longer have health insurance when I chose to start living in car and have a job for insurance in October instead of rent for a place to live with NO insurance. I guess either way you look at it, this country will not make it very well with different races like Hispanic/Mexican I just wish people looked at the whole Earth as one society of humans. Mr. Obama is the FIRST president besides Mr. Clinton that I have seen that actually care for people as just that people, not rich, not poor
Fluffy segment with John Roberts interviewing Michael Steele about his NAACP visit. Roberts belongs in the small to mid-size local news market.
And Nancy, yes. You are so very correct! The actions of seperating the blacks as a Huge issue in America, is only fueling the fire of racism! The blacks seem to be throwing the gasoline these days! They should end the NAACP permanently! You are either Americans or not! What does it truely matter what color that you are? Black people should try to gwet over it and move on as part of the American People! They seem to care more about themselves anymore, than they do the American way! Call yourselves Americans ...not black! Who even cares? I am an American! It does not matter what color that I am! If they don't refrain, they could only spread the hatred of racism for the future! I see this happening as each day passes.
You have to be kidding here? NAACP?? What the People need now is a NWACP. It seems to me that the white people need some protection from the blacks anymore. They are beginning to think and act as tho we are thier slaves! I am not and never will be! Look what happened in New Haven!! Many white men are being looked over for jobs, altho they are much more qualified for the position being applied for! We need all white colleges! Heck!! It seems to me that it very well could be the blacks uprising continual racial issues due to the fact that they do not even consider themselves Americans ...but first and formost ...they are black! Obama just used it (as most black do) to get sympathy to obtain the oval office! What should it matter what color that you are! Imagine ...all white organization to help those whites being racially mistreated!! It would be about time!
My stepfather said due to Alabama's history there will NEVER be ANY blacks elected for ANY political position ever by that state. When Alabama starts electing those that are NOT white Christians or REALLY rich then only will true change will be noticable. I appreciate the fact that the one kind of President I thought would exist as the most human caring individual was in fact of both Black & White. He sure is Bright. NAACP has NOT achieved much when it comes down to EVERY detail because when you look at it Whites can not disrepect blacks because it is ILLEGAL & not humane when some blacks are still acting like they owe us for all the years of disrespect we gave them they can towards our older whites(watch the news with all the beatings on older folks)
Well, eventhough have made it one hundred years with the NAACP we still have PLENTY of work to do(like smaller elections such as the black democratic Alabama mayor runner). I suggest a minimum of existance for the NAACP being until April 4th 2068. We must at least make it that long so that we have a true new NEW beginning for the future of mankind. I also believe that we could even stop it on December 31th 2099 in order to mark a start of a BRAND new century.
I think that if one is looking for an increase in the welfare state, an increase in government assistance to people who are unemployed or underemployed then the answer is yes and no. Many of Obama's policies, especially on Energy, Taxes and Health Care, will prove to be ultimately detrimental to minority peoples of all races.
In the end, Obama's goal and the goal of the NAACP needs to be to work towards the elimination of all "affirmative action" programs and verbage in our laws and daily lives. When people can stop thinking in terms of "I'm a minority, I'm African-American, I'm Hispanic, I'm Asian" and think in terms of "I am a human being, a citizen or legal resident of this country"
Affirmative action, welfare, and other programs are, in and of themselves, racist and do nothing to re-educate people to stop thinking in terms of color. Obama, if he wants to end racism, should have chastised the media for labeling him the "First African-American" President.
I realize the historical significance and rationale for keeping "Colored People" as part of the NAACP identity. For the NAACP to move forward I think it is time to consider the acronym as being "People of Color" and to actually embrace the concept.
My dream is for the day when the the question becomes whether the American president has met all of our (not just the black community's) expectation. It seems to me that the focus of the "common good", on which this country was built, is no longer important. When did we go astray? It would seem to me that simply holding up concern for the common good as a primary objective would make many of the major issues of today no longer relevant. It would make for a stronger country looking out for the future of all of its citizens regardless of their race, color, creed or religion. We should strive to once again make that our goal. Then there would be no need for any organization whose primary concern is that of a section of our society.
I am black and, this is a dream.
As an African-American, CNN offends me with this silly season question.
Did Bush, Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan, LBJ, Kennedy, Nixon, or any of the other 43 WHITE presidents meet the White communities expectations?
Have the jewish senators lived up to the Jews expectations?
How about the women senators, have they lived up to the women's expectations?
Why is it the first African-Americans is supposed to be held to a different standard?
Stop asking these stupid questions for Obama that you NEVER asked about any of the other 43 presidents. He's the President of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. That means, ALL AMERICANS, regardless of race!
CNN is just as insulting as Steele with his fried chicken and potato salad comment.
1) President Obama is an american President so the only expectation he should meet is american expectation.
2) Unfortunate until Americans change it's attitude against all minorities there will be a reason for NAACP and other organization like there's.
3)No, the NAACP has not achieve it's goal. Still too many places like what happen in the swimming pool in PA. Still demostrate that even if the federal government has improve too many corporation (See EEOC) discriminate against minorities.
There will never be equality, tru equality until the vast majority of black people want to be treated equaly and NOT better than caucasians and oth races. I recently worked with a young black girl. She was rude and acted superior to me even though I have worked for years longer than her and clearly had more job experience. She started asking me to pick up her lunch in town for her and wait on her as if I had been hired to attend to her like a hand maiden.
I DO not respect , nor does anyone, people of any race that use affirmative action of any type to create an atmophere that exempts them from being on a level playing field with others. Instead many blacks use their color to protect themselves from having to really earn things and work for them as any credible whites have had to do for ever.
In this recent work situation I was in , I WAS THE ONE being discriminated against daily. Because I was older. I was discriminated due to the age difference. I was screamed at by the young male supervisor who was the same age as the younger black girl. Yet she made very costly mistakes to the company, and he would never raise his voice to her. The company was sued over a ;contract violation that was her fault – NO Problem. But if that had been me. I had to walk on eggshells over every thing I did. She was treated like a princess. She continually made references to her being black and the way blacks were looked at and treated. This was to let everyone know that she had entitlement , due to her color.
I believe this problem will get worse and worse with the present administration. This is very SAD. For blacks as well as whites for thier desire for equal treatment if it is implemented this way will only cause resentment. This will cause many whites to actually become prejudice to them, even when they weren't before.
Why does eveyone insist on calling President Obama "black" or "African American?" He (as one commentator on TV correctly remarked ) every bit as white as he is black and should therefore be referred to as bi-racial. Frankly it's an insult to his Mother and her family that raised him to totally ignore 1/2 of his heritage.