A Sunday Kind of Love: Romancing Barack
"I want a Sunday kind of love, a love to last past Saturday night.."--Sunday Kind of Love (as performed by Etta James)
When the legendary Etta James bought the music and lyrics of "Sunday Kind of Love" to life, she could have been singing to the fragile state of African-American psyches at the time. "Sunday Kind of Love" was recorded by James in 1961, at a moment that was increasingly defined by the demands for social and racial justice that were emanating from the American South. Indeed the song, which is credited Barbara Belle and Louis Prima (among others), is little more than an innocuous love song about desiring a love, that transcends a one night (or one primary) stand. For some African-Americans, such songs could mean so much more, often framing the critical issues in their live in a language that was easily understood. At the root of Etta James's performance of "Sunday Kind of Love" were fears of rejection and betrayal, that resonated throughout black communities even as the most visible tenets of legal discrimination began to buckle. Was this an America that could offer African-Americans and others a "Sunday Kind of Love"? I thought about that question last Thursday night as Senator Barack Obama addressed supporters--and the nation--after his historic win in the Democratic Caucus in Iowa.
Indeed Obama's warm tone and fluttery diction fit as comfortably as a warm blanket last Thursday night--America seems to be in love with the man. Ironically though, the love is not as profound in the very communities that should naturally call Obama their favorite son. The failure of established African-American leadership (broadly defined) to close ranks around Obama has been widely documented and the ocean of non-black faces that engulfed Obama in the aftermath of his victory in Iowa, easily adds to the notion that Obama's candidacy is not reflective of the concerns of everyday black folk.
But I suspect that underneath the strident calls that Obama be subjected to some sort of "black conscious" litmus test (largely by those gatekeepers who stand to lose the most by a successful Obama candidacy) lies more complex realities related to issues of betrayal, mistrust and abandonment. If we give our love unconditionally to this man, in this context, and at this moment, will our hearts be broken once again? Will our continued investment in "black faces in high places" (an admittedly old-school notion) lead us to follow a man who will sell out our dreams--and our souls? Will our unwillingness to ride the "Obama Wave" leaves us out in the cold, in the event he does win?
There are no illusions here. Barack Obama is a politician--one with the capacity to inspire the masses--but nevertheless, a politician, just as the vaunted Jack Kennedy, his brother Bobby, and even Harold Washington were essentially politicians. In other words, when pressed to assure his political survival--in spite of his idealism--I expect Barack Obama to be the pragmatist that the best politicians are. That pragmatism will likely, at times, be in opposition to black expectations. There are also no illusions about our current environment with regards to racial and social justice; Whatever hope some of us can conjure in support of Obama's candidacy is regularly met by the realities of police brutality, a criminally faulty criminal justice system, the benign and conscious neglect of urban and rural public schools, and a range of other issues that rarely get any play during the candidates' debates. Given the realities of race, class and gender, as it is lived on the ground, is this actually a country that could realistically elect a black man--no matter how comfortable he makes a white majority feel about him--as its president?
Many of these questions will be answered soon enough, but until then, I'll hold off in putting on Etta James's "At Last".
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Comments
1.
Annie_C says:
To answer your last question:
I am a white woman ...and, I tell you, when I moved to my very white anglo-saxon neighbourhood some dozen years ago, I used to stop traffic...because I have black hair!!! Now, almost everyone I know is voting/caucusing/campaigning/raising money for Obama... because they honestly believe that he is our best hope! So, this makes me think that perhaps our very racist country is actually not that racist ... and, that HOPEfully, we are ready to elect a President based on his abilities rather the colour of his skin.
02/16/2008 at 4:09 PM
2.
professorf says:
MAN
You are right, Obama is a pragmatist, and in some ways his campaign would not have the same urgency or allure if he had many of the Civil Rights stalwarts at his side. If he is truly advocating for a change from the status quo, it actually helps him when Andrew Young makes disparaging remarks about him.
What has not been discussed enough in this campaign is how younger African Americans, across class and educational divides have felt under served, and been distrustful of some of the black leaders who Hilary Clinton has been able to recruit.
If Obama wins the democratic nomination then other politicians will close ranks. It will take longer for black voters however because of the fundamental flaws in this electoral system. Obama does not represent a change in the electoral system, but rather electoral college 2.0, which, if and when it's misused will have some severe setbacks. As more candidates run on their Ivy League pedigrees, the US senate will look more like NY School Chancellor Joe Klein's inner circle than a real representation of America.
01/07/2008 at 8:47 AM