Hmmm. My frustration with your point of view regarding the Obamas is that when you say things like "...breadth of fresh air..." over and over again, the subtext is not lost on me. I wish that instead of arguing that Obama's presidency failed to address systematic issues that have plagued the United States forever, that instead, you see what I see: that you and the Obamas have the same goals, with different styles or ways to get there. You want to leap to victory from the get go, he's running a triatholon, while carrying the burden of an entire people who were both excited to have him there and fearful of what would happen next (oh and that pesky thing called racism). I guess I would agree with you (and others like you) more, if this was the 5th "Black" President. Or even the 2nd, but it is what annoys me most about you (and you know I have much love for you). The Obamas took a baby step towards what we all want. And let's be honest, it was MORE than a baby step. But their style is NOT your style or Cornell Wests style. And I don't know which one is right or wrong, but I do know that THAT was their style and more importantly, it is all this country could muster. If not, then maybe Jesse Jackson would have been President first. Or maybe Shirley Chisolm. You're speaking as an intellectual and I get that. I respect it. And we always need the reminders. But as a Black Latina woman -- that grey line is where most of us live. And so I understand the choices they made. You seem to kinda blame them for the rise of tea party and the like in this video - it may not have been what you meant -- but let's be clear that the rise of the Tea Party, the Rise of Trump is evidence of how this country was not ready for Blackness... but the country took the leap anyways. With respect, what happened yesterday wasn't just nostalgic, it was a reminder of what we can be.. moving forward one step at a time. Maybe a leap at a time... but I beg of you to please try and see the world from regular folks point of view. It wasn't just a breadth of fresh air, it was a reminder of how far we thought we had moved through...
Yes, agree, but are we ever ready for "shocks" of unexpected change since our anticipation has been so great that when the intended goal arrives, it always seems too soon for many--but in its happening, it jumps us forward to think and absilutley "be" differently--the shocks are good, but disrupt the status quo and rightly so!! Then it arrives and we adapt and change for the good as we are now trying to "adapt" to this admins. cruelty! The Breath of fresh air is our response that we are and can be in the face of the cruelty which has always been there, but the contrast makes us think differntly and now we fight for that better vision and try to diminish the shadow side of our American reality and hold it at bay--the virtue of self-control--the higher ground! We are in this together and we will overcome! Thanks for your comments--Happy Juneteenth, ALL!
Thank you for sharing this - I hear what you’re saying. My point was a little different, though. I wasn’t talking about whether the country is ever “ready” for big shifts; I was speaking specifically about the expectations placed on the first Black president and how that shaped what people think he should have done. For many of us, that moment carried a very particular weight, and the reactions to it - including the backlash - weren’t just about policy, but about identity and history.
So I agree that shocks can move us forward, but I also think it’s important to name the context of who’s delivering the shock and what they’re carrying when they do. That’s the nuance I was trying to highlight. Also, Eddie Glaude and other intellectuals sometimes miss the forest for the trees because they are so convinced that their way is the only right way. To me, it's the difference between Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X - different styles, same goals. And I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with, is helping divide us (I'm talking about Black folk here) and then blaming the actual guy in politics (not in the bleacher seats) for not doing it even better than what he already did. That undertone bothers me. And here's the thing: with as much respect as I can portray in this writing -- Eddie does the same thing on Nicole Wallace's show that he kinda calls out President Obama for -- you work within the framework you have. Eddie "softens" his stance on that show so people can hear him. So White folk can hear him. It's that contradiction -- that I'm positive he does not even notice -- that bothers me. Give the Obama's their flowers. And lets keep tending to the garden now that they've moved onward. That's all I'm saying.
Thank you for your details and I agree the context is important—who, what where and yes more expectations were placed on the first Black Presisdent then ever would have been placed on a white one.
As in feminism, women have had to do more work—double, triple—what men do to prove they are capable of the position given. Surely, identity, adn history enter in and we, as a country, are working that into a new paradigm which I hope is for the better. Since Feb. 2025, I’ve been in the streets all over LA demonstrating and talking to as many people as possible-like-minded, but also anyone, and they are few, opposed. I observed that all of us doing this, we are getting to know each otehr on a new level like never before where we are sequestered at work, home, and play and only see our immediate forends and family. This is such a good thing and I see us creating the glue that will newly unite us together as a people in this wonderful country of ours!
We are still working out Reconstruction and JIm & Jane Crow—we know we cannot go back, but forge ahead into what Eddie has asked us—”who do we want o be as a country”? We are now trying to figure that out and by taking to each other as never before we are in the crucible of creating this new America!
I truly appreciate what you so powerfully point to and speak of regarding nostalgia and that around the Obama celebration. I watched pieces of it with tears… not because I am in any way sentimental, in general or in politics. For me, and no doubt so many, it was a reminder of the deep heartbreak felt around the loss of intelligent and decent humans in places of power. With at least good intent for this country and doing their particular view of (and capacity give how politics works in this imperfect experiment) what seems best for the whole.
Always look forward to your unique and so well inspired and informed perspectives Professor. Grateful.
It takes a half-trillion from your pocket and mine,
For the Dept of War's technological line.
A bribe to the military, soldiers and chiefs,
To shatter the nation's democratic beliefs. 🪖
But while he gives billions for power and might,
He strips local safety straight into the night.
As Jamie Raskin revealed just last week,
In an Oversight hearing where truth hit its peak. 🏛️
They're holding back funds that our neighborhoods need,
To satisfy cravings of power and greed.
Two billion in grants for the local police,
Are frozen as ransom to threaten our peace. 🚓
The rest of the government starts to decay,
As vital social programs are taken away.
The average breadwinner pays thousands more tax,
To cover the spending and fill in the cracks. 💸
There's no fiscal sense in this massive outlay,
Except for a tyrant who wants his own way.
To ensure that the officers stand by his side,
When constitutional limits are cast right aside. 📉
With purges already commanding the ranks,
They prepare for a homeland protected by tanks.
To use our own soldiers against you and me,
And crush the remaining resolve of the free. 🛑
So follow the money and research the source,
Of candidate funding that dictates their course.
To keep our republic both equal and free,
We must cast our ballots for democracy! 🗳️
————————————-
We are the Pro-Democracy Comment-Chain Crew, using our comments to boost pro-democracy leaders and indie media. Employingthe Algorithm Advantage so truth can grow! ✨🇺🇸🗳️⚖️🕯️🌱
Just listened to your conversation on Politics and Prose Presents podcast from Juneteenth and I have yet to get my celebratory books for completing half of my master’s program and your books will be in my tote.
The man was Abused Hideously by his dad, and he knows only reacting to that abuse. He values no one, even himself. To think of Baldwin, by contrast, deciding to create, not destroy himself. Creating his own identity against tremendous pressure in the culture —he’s one of my favorite people. (Love your books!)
Those entities in the US who would like to see the US to continue fighting Israel’s war can pack a bag and move to Israel - we need to be America first again! Bring our troops home, make peace with Iran, and focus on We The People right here at home who are struggling to make ends meet as this regime spends our tax dollars on frivolous trinkets for themselves rather than fixing our economy and providing healthcare to ALL! They could at least act like we matter instead of treating us like their tricks!
Thank you for being such an incredible voice who continues to speak out for the voiceless, for the forgotten people for the disenfranchise. I can’t tell you what it does to my spirit to hear you to hear your voice address the issues or topics that many have forgotten or choose not to address because it’s not cool. So your courage, your persistence is valued thank you.
I knew about the dump family before his dad passed who was also a criminal so I have know for a long time how horrible these people were and still are ! Only decent family is Mary Trump and her brother ! To bad uncle didn’t learn from Mary’s daddy all their life’s would have been better !
Hmmm. My frustration with your point of view regarding the Obamas is that when you say things like "...breadth of fresh air..." over and over again, the subtext is not lost on me. I wish that instead of arguing that Obama's presidency failed to address systematic issues that have plagued the United States forever, that instead, you see what I see: that you and the Obamas have the same goals, with different styles or ways to get there. You want to leap to victory from the get go, he's running a triatholon, while carrying the burden of an entire people who were both excited to have him there and fearful of what would happen next (oh and that pesky thing called racism). I guess I would agree with you (and others like you) more, if this was the 5th "Black" President. Or even the 2nd, but it is what annoys me most about you (and you know I have much love for you). The Obamas took a baby step towards what we all want. And let's be honest, it was MORE than a baby step. But their style is NOT your style or Cornell Wests style. And I don't know which one is right or wrong, but I do know that THAT was their style and more importantly, it is all this country could muster. If not, then maybe Jesse Jackson would have been President first. Or maybe Shirley Chisolm. You're speaking as an intellectual and I get that. I respect it. And we always need the reminders. But as a Black Latina woman -- that grey line is where most of us live. And so I understand the choices they made. You seem to kinda blame them for the rise of tea party and the like in this video - it may not have been what you meant -- but let's be clear that the rise of the Tea Party, the Rise of Trump is evidence of how this country was not ready for Blackness... but the country took the leap anyways. With respect, what happened yesterday wasn't just nostalgic, it was a reminder of what we can be.. moving forward one step at a time. Maybe a leap at a time... but I beg of you to please try and see the world from regular folks point of view. It wasn't just a breadth of fresh air, it was a reminder of how far we thought we had moved through...
Yes, agree, but are we ever ready for "shocks" of unexpected change since our anticipation has been so great that when the intended goal arrives, it always seems too soon for many--but in its happening, it jumps us forward to think and absilutley "be" differently--the shocks are good, but disrupt the status quo and rightly so!! Then it arrives and we adapt and change for the good as we are now trying to "adapt" to this admins. cruelty! The Breath of fresh air is our response that we are and can be in the face of the cruelty which has always been there, but the contrast makes us think differntly and now we fight for that better vision and try to diminish the shadow side of our American reality and hold it at bay--the virtue of self-control--the higher ground! We are in this together and we will overcome! Thanks for your comments--Happy Juneteenth, ALL!
Thank you for sharing this - I hear what you’re saying. My point was a little different, though. I wasn’t talking about whether the country is ever “ready” for big shifts; I was speaking specifically about the expectations placed on the first Black president and how that shaped what people think he should have done. For many of us, that moment carried a very particular weight, and the reactions to it - including the backlash - weren’t just about policy, but about identity and history.
So I agree that shocks can move us forward, but I also think it’s important to name the context of who’s delivering the shock and what they’re carrying when they do. That’s the nuance I was trying to highlight. Also, Eddie Glaude and other intellectuals sometimes miss the forest for the trees because they are so convinced that their way is the only right way. To me, it's the difference between Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X - different styles, same goals. And I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with, is helping divide us (I'm talking about Black folk here) and then blaming the actual guy in politics (not in the bleacher seats) for not doing it even better than what he already did. That undertone bothers me. And here's the thing: with as much respect as I can portray in this writing -- Eddie does the same thing on Nicole Wallace's show that he kinda calls out President Obama for -- you work within the framework you have. Eddie "softens" his stance on that show so people can hear him. So White folk can hear him. It's that contradiction -- that I'm positive he does not even notice -- that bothers me. Give the Obama's their flowers. And lets keep tending to the garden now that they've moved onward. That's all I'm saying.
Thank you for your details and I agree the context is important—who, what where and yes more expectations were placed on the first Black Presisdent then ever would have been placed on a white one.
As in feminism, women have had to do more work—double, triple—what men do to prove they are capable of the position given. Surely, identity, adn history enter in and we, as a country, are working that into a new paradigm which I hope is for the better. Since Feb. 2025, I’ve been in the streets all over LA demonstrating and talking to as many people as possible-like-minded, but also anyone, and they are few, opposed. I observed that all of us doing this, we are getting to know each otehr on a new level like never before where we are sequestered at work, home, and play and only see our immediate forends and family. This is such a good thing and I see us creating the glue that will newly unite us together as a people in this wonderful country of ours!
We are still working out Reconstruction and JIm & Jane Crow—we know we cannot go back, but forge ahead into what Eddie has asked us—”who do we want o be as a country”? We are now trying to figure that out and by taking to each other as never before we are in the crucible of creating this new America!
I agree with you Carmen….
Congratulations Eddie, on your book 📕! I bought it, excellent read!
Great discussion on Majority Report, thank you Professor! ❤️✊
I truly appreciate what you so powerfully point to and speak of regarding nostalgia and that around the Obama celebration. I watched pieces of it with tears… not because I am in any way sentimental, in general or in politics. For me, and no doubt so many, it was a reminder of the deep heartbreak felt around the loss of intelligent and decent humans in places of power. With at least good intent for this country and doing their particular view of (and capacity give how politics works in this imperfect experiment) what seems best for the whole.
Always look forward to your unique and so well inspired and informed perspectives Professor. Grateful.
⚖️ The Lantern's Light on the Priorities Budget
A budget reveals what a leader holds dear,
With his War Tech proposal now painfully clear.
He asks for a fifty percent funding spike,
To fund the surveillance and weapons they like. 📡
It takes a half-trillion from your pocket and mine,
For the Dept of War's technological line.
A bribe to the military, soldiers and chiefs,
To shatter the nation's democratic beliefs. 🪖
But while he gives billions for power and might,
He strips local safety straight into the night.
As Jamie Raskin revealed just last week,
In an Oversight hearing where truth hit its peak. 🏛️
They're holding back funds that our neighborhoods need,
To satisfy cravings of power and greed.
Two billion in grants for the local police,
Are frozen as ransom to threaten our peace. 🚓
The rest of the government starts to decay,
As vital social programs are taken away.
The average breadwinner pays thousands more tax,
To cover the spending and fill in the cracks. 💸
There's no fiscal sense in this massive outlay,
Except for a tyrant who wants his own way.
To ensure that the officers stand by his side,
When constitutional limits are cast right aside. 📉
With purges already commanding the ranks,
They prepare for a homeland protected by tanks.
To use our own soldiers against you and me,
And crush the remaining resolve of the free. 🛑
So follow the money and research the source,
Of candidate funding that dictates their course.
To keep our republic both equal and free,
We must cast our ballots for democracy! 🗳️
————————————-
We are the Pro-Democracy Comment-Chain Crew, using our comments to boost pro-democracy leaders and indie media. Employingthe Algorithm Advantage so truth can grow! ✨🇺🇸🗳️⚖️🕯️🌱
Just listened to your conversation on Politics and Prose Presents podcast from Juneteenth and I have yet to get my celebratory books for completing half of my master’s program and your books will be in my tote.
The man was Abused Hideously by his dad, and he knows only reacting to that abuse. He values no one, even himself. To think of Baldwin, by contrast, deciding to create, not destroy himself. Creating his own identity against tremendous pressure in the culture —he’s one of my favorite people. (Love your books!)
Soooo ironic that it was to hide his abuse of children that prompted another horror, bombing of that school and initiating a war.
The Obamas are all about putting all children into the light and loving them. Learning how to be from them.
You are a true Native Son!! Bless you!
Those entities in the US who would like to see the US to continue fighting Israel’s war can pack a bag and move to Israel - we need to be America first again! Bring our troops home, make peace with Iran, and focus on We The People right here at home who are struggling to make ends meet as this regime spends our tax dollars on frivolous trinkets for themselves rather than fixing our economy and providing healthcare to ALL! They could at least act like we matter instead of treating us like their tricks!
yes, end ALL war
Love these unpacking sessions and great meeting you at Mahogany Books this morning!
Thank you for being such an incredible voice who continues to speak out for the voiceless, for the forgotten people for the disenfranchise. I can’t tell you what it does to my spirit to hear you to hear your voice address the issues or topics that many have forgotten or choose not to address because it’s not cool. So your courage, your persistence is valued thank you.
You’re awesome thank you !
I knew about the dump family before his dad passed who was also a criminal so I have know for a long time how horrible these people were and still are ! Only decent family is Mary Trump and her brother ! To bad uncle didn’t learn from Mary’s daddy all their life’s would have been better !