The Presidential election of this year is special. Perhaps this is the most special election for over 100 years, perhaps going as far back as to the Civil War. That is because in this one election multiple events are going to happen that will change America forever, no matter which candidate wins.

Specifically I want to focus on Senator Obama. By his historic nomination he has set off dominoes that continue to fall, and will fall for decades to come. And every one of those dominoes is connected to race relations in America.

I know many people have wondered what are Senator Obama’s chances of winning the election. And I must say that they are pretty bad. And this has little to do with his political intentions. Because if anyone was honest they would admit that in an election year with a President that has one of the worst (if not the worst) approval ratings since they kept these ratings, and a war as unpopular as Viet Nam it is unheard of to not be leading the opposing Party with at least 10 – 20%. The words landslide should be in play.

But what is holding America back? The Congress is Democratic, and ineffective. While this is the hands-down worst Congress ever, with approval ratings even lower than the President, no one really believes that Congress is all that effective even in the best of times. But the Congress is chanting the latest political fads – change, environmentally positive everything, more money in the average guys pocket, and an end to the wars. The Democratic nominee should be swimming in the excess.

But this Democratic nominee is Black. Which means he has Black friends. And Black wife and children. All of them will be in the White House, and not as cleaning staff.

It would be a laughable statement, except this is America land of the worst memory in history. This nation can’t remember that slaves built the foundation of everything. This nation can’t remember that African Americans fought in every war this nation ever had, of their own free will. This nation strives to forget that up until 1922 lynching a Black man was not a crime. Or that the murder of an entire town went unpunished. Or that laws based on skin color were as real as laws from Congress.

Because in America we forget that people of color exist on television, movies, cartoons, and books. We insist on populating news footage with negative images of people of color – to such an extreme that exactly the same photos of survivors of natural disaster portray Whites as foraging for food, and Blacks as looters. It’s because of this complete unwillingness to admit that our past is as ugly as any nation, and that this past was rather recent, that we see many people shun Senator Obama.

I’m sure most have forgotten already that during the Democratic Primaries polls showed that 11% of Democratic voters (who tend to be the most liberal part of the Party) in Pennsylvania and Ohio felt that race was important in selecting a candidate. And in West Virginia there was a large group that were sure that Senator Obama was a secret Muslim terrorist.

But now there is even more proof that not only some Democrats, but the nation makes decisions in Black and White.

The Associated Press, Yahoo, and Stanford University conducted a poll of 2,227 adults between August 27th and September 5th. 55% were between 30 and 60 years old. 52% were women. 86% had high school or better educations. 57% were married, 27% single. 27% had kids. 84% lived in a city of some size. 59% were employed. 71% made $25,000 or more per year. 49% were Democrats, 36% Republican, and 7% Independent. Most importantly 69% were White, 11% were Black, and 13% were Hispanic.

Here are the important results of the poll.

• 54% had a somewhat or very favorable opinion of Senator Obama.
  
• 55% had a somewhat or very favorable opinion of the Democratic Party.
  
• 64% somewhat or strongly disapproved of the job President Bush is doing.
  

Up to this point you would have to wonder why Senator Obama is not doing better in polling results. Both he and his Party enjoy a better than 50% favorable opinion. And President Bush represents Republicans (supposedly) so he should be doing gangbusters against anything that sounds remotely like a President bush policy. Yet we know he is not.

The following is verbatim from the poll (wave 6 is the version of the poll):

[RANDOMLY ASSIGN RESPONDENTS TO RAC3 OR RAC4 OR RAC5 OR RAC6]
RAC3. Please indicate HOW MANY of the following upset you.

• The federal government increasing the tax on gasoline
  
• Professional athletes getting million-dollar-plus salaries
  
• Large corporations polluting the environment
  Wave 6
  0 4
  1 14
  2 31
  3 51
  Refused / Not Answered 0
  
  RAC4. Please indicate HOW MANY of the following upset you.
  
• The federal government increasing the tax on gasoline
  
• Professional athletes getting million-dollar-plus salaries
  
• Large corporations polluting the environment
  
• A black family moving next door to where you live
  Wave 6
  0 1
  1 12
  2 41
  3 38
  4 7
  Refused / Not Answered 0
  
  RAC5. Please indicate HOW MANY of the following upset you.
  
• The federal government increasing the tax on gasoline
  
• Professional athletes getting million-dollar-plus salaries
  
• Large corporations polluting the environment
  
• Black leaders asking the government for racial equality in the work place
  Wave 6
  0 3
  1 9
  2 32
  3 30
  4 25
  Refused / Not Answered 1
  
  RAC6. Please indicate HOW MANY of the following upset you.
  
• The federal government increasing the tax on gasoline
  
• Professional athletes getting million-dollar-plus salaries
  
• Large corporations polluting the environment
  
• A black person serving as president of the United States
  Wave 6
  0 3
  1 11
  2 28
  3 46
  4 10
  Refused / Not Answered 1
  

Notice what is different in each of the above. The numbers jump dramatically when adding in a Black person. Especially if that African American is a leader asking for equality, or is President. But isn’t it nice that there is only a slight increase when a Black person lives near Whites. I guess racism doesn’t exist – as long as we don’t try to do more than live near Whites.

But the pool goes on.

• 60% of the respondents like a little to a great deal Whites (which is funny since 69% are White)
  
• 52% of the respondents like a little to a great deal Blacks
  
• 52% of the respondents like a little to a great deal Hispanics
  
  Do you happen to know the religion of each of the following candidates? If you don’t know, you can mark that too.
  

The key in this response is the fact that 14% feel that Senator Obama is a Muslim. That’s after 16 months of pundits on television, campaign ads, and the actual words of Obama dispelling rumors about his faith. And since 9/11 being a Muslim in this nation can be painful if not deadly.

But couple that response with this next question:

CQ8. Does Barack Obama’s religion make you more likely to vote for him, less likely to vote for him, or have no effect on whether you’d vote for him?
More likely 6
Less likely 18
Has no effect 75
Refused / Not Answered 0

That’s 18% that would be less likely to vote for Obama, and 23% that fail to recognize or believe in his Christian faith – most believing him to be Muslim.

But what about Reverend Wright, a Christian and much spoken about during and since the Primaries?

CQ9. Does Barack Obama’s relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright (his former pastor in Chicago) suggest to you that Mr. Obama would be a better president, a worse president, or suggest nothing to you about how good or bad a president he would be?
All Respondents Wave 6
A much better president 2
A somewhat better president 3
A somewhat worse president 15
A much worse president 19
Suggest nothing to you 61
Refused / Not Answered 0

Whites Only Wave 6
A much better president 0
A somewhat better president 2
A somewhat worse president 18
A much worse president 23
Suggest nothing to you 56
Refused / Not Answered 0

The total of all respondents was 34% feel Rev Wright was a bad influence on their vote
The total of White respondents was 41% feel Rev Wright was a bad influence on their vote

Yet 50% said they want Senator Obama as President with or without a Democratic Congress
47% said they want a moderate President but 63% feel Obama is slightly to extremely Liberal

RAC8. When it comes to politics, would you say that each of the groups listed below has too much influence, just about the right amount of influence, or to little influence?

Now I found it interesting that 87% of White respondents felt they had just enough or too little influence on politics. Yet 75% White respondents felt Blacks had too much influence or just enough.

This question really makes me wonder

RAC10. How often have you felt admiration for blacks?
All Respondents Wave 6
Extremely often 8
Very often 18
Moderately often 43
Rarely 21
Never 8
Refused / Not Answered 1

Whites Only Wave 6
Extremely often 3
Very often 15
Moderately often 49
Rarely 23
Never 8
Refused / Not Answered 1

What do they mean admiration? And for whom? Do they mean if Whites admire Tiger Woods for his golfing ability, or Shaq for being able to play basketball, or do they mean Tyler Perry for his business success? And guess which one the average White American knows the name of.

When the poll asked:

RAC11. How well does each of these words describe most blacks?


• Whites responded 57% that Complaining was a moderately to extremely well description
  
• Whites responded 38% that Lazy was a moderately to extremely well description
  
• Whites responded 40% that Irresponsible was a moderately to extremely well description
  
• Whites responded 48% that Violent was a moderately to extremely well description
  

Another question asked how much people agreed or disagreed with a statement:

Generations of slavery have created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower class – 51% of Whites strongly or somewhat disagreed with this.

Over the past few years, blacks have gotten LESS than they deserve – 44% of Whites strongly or somewhat disagreed with this

Over the past few years, blacks have gotten more ECONOMICALLY than they deserve – 29% of Whites strongly or somewhat disagreed with this

So in looking at these questions you get this picture – Whites (at least in this poll) feel that Blacks are violent and complain too much, in particular about slavery and Jim Crow laws and the effect being a considered a non-human that did not deserve the right to read and/or write for centuries might have had up until 1965. And that it’s irresponsible for us to believe we deserve anything more than EXACTLY what we have now.

That how I read that section.

Another question of note:

RAC14. How much of the racial tension that exists in the United States today do you think blacks are responsible for creating?

85% of the White respondents believe that Blacks are responsible for most or some of the racial tension in America today. But if you go to your TV right now, and flip thru 5 channels (excluding Unavision and BET) I doubt you will be able to find more than 2 main black characters, 1 Hispanic, and 0 Asians on all the programs combined. But being made invisible on a medium that broadcasts 24/7 wouldn’t make you feel invisible or tense. Just like if no one ever spoke or looked at you for a day or two. Wouldn’t that be relaxing, now imagine that happens everyday of your life.

Another great question:

RAC15. How much discrimination against blacks do you feel there is in the United States today, limiting their chances to get ahead?

81% of the White respondents believe that there is little to some discrimination. Refer back to the example above. Or better yet provide me with a video or link to news about a White man being shot 50 or more times by police.

Now I realize that this has been very long. And if you have followed this to here I thank you. But more importantly I hope you are thinking about this poll, and what it says about America.

There are very real issues about race in this nation. It’s more than the fact that in June of 2007 Senator Obama had to have a Secret Service detail because of the death threats he was receiving – before he became popular and months before any other potential candidate was made a similar offer. It’s more than the fact that fully some 10% of people polled in every state have said they won’t vote for an African American. It’s not even solely about the lopsided justice that the Jena 6, Wesley Snipes, Megan Williams, Sean Bell and the 3 men beaten by 15 Philadelphia police received. It’s that America has issues with anyone of color, and that issue is exponentially greater if that person has or tries to attain a position of power.

Has America improved its race relations since 1965? Yes, because police dogs and fire hoses are not used when a Black kid goes to an integrated school. But that fact, and that 1 Black man is running for the Presidency, does not mean that racism has been abolished.

Not when during the time of this election cycle African Americans have been beaten, killed, and persecuted by the same Government that he is running to be elected to lead. Not when so many believe Blacks have too much power, or are innately violent and/or lazy, and so many have problems with the idea of a Black leader or President.

In that kind of an environment are you surprised that anyone might wonder if Senator Obama can win? Even though he is well liked, his political party is favored, and the current policies and President is virtually despised. Is it really any wonder that this is not a landslide election for the Democrats and Obama?

I mean think about this. Of all the questions asked in the poll, not one mentioned a single political issue. Not one mentioned any change in the government. Not one question focused on a campaign promise that Democrats and/or Obama has made. Yet consistently for reasons revolving around the fact that Senator Obama has an excellent tan every day of his life, he is viewed as a violent, lazy, irresponsible, Muslim, that creates racial tension and complains too much with too much political power for the likes of some 20% or so of Americans.

Please tell me how this does not bode poorly for the nation and our future?

Labels: Associated Press, Megan Williams, Presidential election race 2008, race in America, Sean Bell, Senator Barack Obama, Stanford University, Wesley Snipes, Yahoo

So I have recently discussed race in America, specifically the inequality of law enforcement and punishment (at Black Entertainment USA and here). Sean Bell, Wesley Snipes, Megan Williams, the Jena 6 and others are but a tip of the iceberg of failure in some aspect of the legal system. From the failure to prosecute, failure to convict, the rush to presume and proclaim guilt, and the retroactively excessive and (in my opinion) abusive sentencing there is nothing that is balanced about Justice in America.

Now add to that a case I have read about today. By the way, if you are African American and live in Texas, especially Dallas, don’t ever get arrested. Because there is a real chance you will get convicted and in the worst case you will be sentenced to death. Such is the case of James Lee Woodard.

James Lee Woodard is an innocent man, wrongly convicted of murder in 1981. It has taken 27 years and the efforts of the Innocence Project to provide him a DNA test proving his innocence. And if you wonder why he had to wait for them, it’s because the legal system willfully ignored him. Mr. Woodard filed 6 writs with appeals courts and 2 requests for the DNA tests (that would eventually free him). Instead of considering his pleas he was labeled a writ abuser and ignored.

Imagine that. You are innocent, and your request to be proven so is brushed off as annoying chatter.

There was a study by the Justice Department (A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995) that stated in 22 years there was no proof of a wrongly executed person. Yet 500 were executed in that time frame. Mr. Woodard was convicted in that timeframe. So if he was never given a DNA test, and executed the DOJ would have still claimed no error. Thus the question must be asked, how many have been denied a DNA test and executed wrongly?

Why is the DNA so important? Why is this such an abomination of justice? Because Mr. Woodard was convicted by 2 witnesses – of which one recanted their testimony in court documents and the other is stated as being completely unreliable (now). And Mr. Woodard is not alone.

In Texas 31 people have been found innocent by DNA testing. 18 were convicted in Dallas alone. Both of these are national highs. How many have not been heard because they have claimed their innocence too much? Because the ears of the Justice system close quickly. Especially when the fact is that Blacks, nationwide, are more likely to be convicted of a violent crime than any other racial group in the nation.

In a culture that is rife with cases where African American males are repeatedly targeted for senseless murders by law enforcement officers, and the legal system is prone to handing out the harshest penalties, can we afford to have closed ears? How often do we hear of Black men, convicted by eyewitnesses that are wrong or knowingly guessing and legal procedures that are unbalanced, being released after decades of incarceration?

What about cases like Genarlow Wilson, a young Black youth convicted to 10 years in a case that even the most jaded would call overly excessive. What about Wesley Snipes who was given the harshest possible sentence to make up for the fact the Government failed to get a conviction on felony charges – that a jury of his peers found him innocent of. What about a judge penalizing witnesses for the prosecution for their dress code and attitude by absolving the defendants of guilt without the benefit of a jury or the defendants testifying (the Sean Bell case).

Like politics today, where issues are abandoned in pursuit of the character of individuals not up for election, where is the justice?

America has issues. Many want to hide their heads in the sand or stick fingers in their ears rather than deal with the uncomfortable truth. America is as biased and racist as it was in 1950 or 1860. We just dress it up better.

So what can we do? What is possible for the public? Everything.

Write to your Congressional representative and Senator. Have your friends and family, your schools and classmates, your job and co-workers write. Post up blogs, and speak at community events. Be involved in your community and vocal at public discussions. Write a blog or make a website. Act.

Because if you are waiting for someone to act on your behalf you may wind up like the person in a joke I once heard:

“There is this guy in his house. He hears on TV that a flood is coming and he should evacuate. He prays to God to save him and goes about his day at home. The flood waters start to reach his house when a police officer drives up and tries to get him to leave with him. The man refuses saying – I’m a good man. I pray to God and have strong faith. God will save me.

The waters continue to rise and fill the 1st floor of his 2 story house. A man in a row boat comes up and begs the man to get in. He refuses again saying – I follow my faith. I love God, and pray often. I have faith, God will save me.

The floodwaters rise further and the man is forced to his roof. A helicopter comes by and pleads with the man to grab a ladder and fly off with them. Adamant the man stays shouting – I prayed to God and he will save me! I have faith!

The man dies from drowning in the flood. In heaven he sees God. He asks God why he didn’t save him.

God says, “You are a good man. You have strong faith and lived well. I heard your prayers. So I sent you a cop in a car, a guy in a rowboat, and a helicopter. What more did you want me to do?”

Labels: american justice, Black Entertainment USA, Dallas, Innocence Project, jena 6, legal system, Megan Williams, Sean Bell, Texas, Wesley Snipes