FROM AFROS TO SHELLTOES BLOG » Blog Archive » Ask Ed & Sugar: Got A Negro Republicans Play Racial Roulette

Ask Ed & Sugar: Got A Negro Republicans Play Racial Roulette

2 February 2009 2 Comments

When I saw on CNN that the GOP selected its first black chairman in former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, I was in utter disbelief. I have to say I am a natural conspiracy theorist and do not know what to think of this move. Is this solely a response to Obama, or is Steele being used as a token like Palin?

T.J Little, Saginaw, MI

Sugar’s Take

When we were in second grade we used to say, “…monkey see…monkey do…” And I think monkeys are way smarter than anybody believes (except the Egyptians). Copycats are boring and insidious.

Ed’s Take

Got a Negro? Blackness has now become the new mainstream accessory; kinda like a trendy hand bag that loses it luster after a few nights on the town. Picking Steele as GOP Chairman clearly shows the Republican Party has been hitting the political crack pipe worst than Chris Rock in the movie New Jack City. To be sure, this move continues the political tap dancing that begun when they deviously presumed America would support Palin solely because she was a woman; a “just as good” conservative alternative to Hillary Clinton so to speak. And we see how that blew up in their face.

Yes, this move is all about Obama. But, this step may also lead to some very dangerous consequences as it is race baiting masquerading as justice and equal protection for all. A Zebra never changes stripes, and it will take more than tokenism to undue the well deserved public perception that the Republicans are out of touch elitists whose ideals are far from the hearts of people of color, the working poor, and the LGBT community. This is a treacherous game of racial roulette.

Steele is being used to divide allegiances amongst black folks in an effort to seize Obama’s power base. The Republicans are desperate, so desperate they want to woo the very same Americans they could care less about before losing in a historic defeat. I believe common folk are much smarter than politicians give them credit for. Americans want substance and proactive measures to address insufficient health care and sky rocketing mortgages not “any Negro will do” political shenanigans. The GOP may just have guaranteed a two term president. Black Steele is; Obama he is not.

[end_columns]

Got a question; email us askedandsugar@afrostoshelltoes.com!!!

Between catching the uptown train to conduct “we luv the kids” writing workshops to dancing rumba on the lower eastside, Sugar Johnson flaunts his creative freedom in various mediums. The actor, vocalist, and educator have not only shared the stage with prolific artists such as The Last Poets, M-1 of Dead Prez, Jessica Care Moore, and Spike Lee, but he also labors to cultivate the forgotten souls of Rikers Island. Johnson made his film debut in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. The ASCAP member holds a B.A. in Mathematics from DePauw University and will release the poetry collection Food Clothes and Shelter on his imprint Home Grown Publishing, LLC in 2008.

Award winning writer, educator, counselor, and activist Edward M. Garnes, Jr. is the founder of From Afros to Shelltoes: Art, Action, and Conversation, a nationally acclaimed series of cultural productions confronting the social divide between elders and hip hop heads, and holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and a M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University . His seminal essay, ” Sweet Tea Ethics: Black Luv, Healthcare, and Cultural Mistrust,” currently appears in Not In My Family: AIDS in the African American Community, a 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated collection edited by Gil Robertson. (www.afrostoshelltoes.com).

2 Comments »

Fahamu Pecou said:

A new era of politically aware, socially responsible and financially diligent American emerges from the ash of the melee of government catastrophes of recent history. The media and its pundits have yet to correctly cite the source of Obama’s strength… its not that he is a cool black guy, has a pretty hot wife, smokes KOOLs, has a Blackberry or any of the ancillary hype that an out-of-touch media has tried to project. But rather that through his own honesty, confidence and compassion, Obama has awakened a sleeping beast; our consciousness. A consciousness has been stirred by his conviction and humanity. This consciousness had been lulled over decades of bullshit spouted at us by politicians, news anchors, magazines, televisions, radios and the like. This latest move on the behalf of the RNC represents that they still don’t get it. The potential of our collective efforts and individual rationalizing has been revealed to us. We see ourselves, and in such, we see our power. Let these morons who have for years folded themselves into these self-appointed positions of superiority continue to strain until they find their heads inside their own asses… While the rest of us sleeping giants stir and move and make great this world… In the words of Marcus Garvey “Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men.”.

# 2 February 2009 at 10:48 am

Adilah Muhammad said:

The major underlying issue in the GOP nomination of Steele is a part of a much broader problem- the use of race as strategy. Albeit strange to see the use of race as strategy on a national scale, it’s far from uncommon in everyday institutions especially those of higher learning. We see this in the recruitment of more minority professors and admissions officers to help receruit more minority students and in turn provide them a more comfortable living and learning environment. We see it in the private sector with the recruitment of more professional minorities to provide a means for better understanding the product/service needs of certain ethnic groups, etc. This type of use of race as strategy is not wholly new. The difference however is that this form of race as strategy is reciprical and born out of a demonstrated necessity.

However, what the GOP has done is taken its strategic race manuevering to a different level- one that is not an effort to better serve its exisiting constituencies but as Garnes puts it to “seize Obama’s power base”. It’s akin to a predominantly white university (or company) only resorting to recruitment of minorities when it realizes its enrollment is down and the competition is strong with diverse recruits. It’s disingenuine. You’ve seen the lone minority recruiter at the table as if he/she is representative of the bunch. It feels downright patronizing. I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot more comfortable when approached by non- blacks who get it or want to get than a black that thinks he/she already has.

The GOP already blew their strategy when they pulled Bobby Jindle, Governor of Louisina from there back pockets as if to say “Look. We’re not racist. We’ve got young colored friends too.” Since then they’re back pocket strategy has taken off and is certain to lead to the creation of their own magic dragons.

If the GOP wants to succeed in recruitting blacks and other minorities, it’s going to have to give us a sense that the folks in the breakroom are speaking our languange and not just offering us a seat. I’m sure that Steele may be more than amply qualified for the job, but I have been wandering what the folks really say when he gets up from the table. We’ll see.

# 2 February 2009 at 4:22 pm