Barack Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and a white American mother, and Hillary Clinton, the wife of the two term (1992-2000) Democratic Party president of the United States, are the frontrunners in the race for the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States.
Inside the black American community, Bill Clinton was often referred to as “America’s first black president.” The reason for that was that Bill had “black vibes,” but his presidential policies did not reflect such vibes. Bill Clinton appointed a number of African Americans to influential positions, but that was all. The essential presidential policies of his administrations satisfied the white power structure, and did little for the black oppressed.
Most of the black establishment, those who have been the acknowledged and longstanding spokesmen and leaders of African Americans in the United States, became committed to Bill Clinton in such a way during his two presidential terms, that it became a matter of course for them to endorse his wife, Hillary, when she decided to seek the Democratic nomination for president. Remember now, that black American leaders delivered 90 percent of the black vote to Bill Clinton in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections.
The sensational, unprecedented thing about Barack Obama, who grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia, in addition to the United States, was that he and his campaign were transcending race. It was unbelievable, because America has been a violently racist society. All that Barack has accomplished, culminating with his stunning win in the Iowa caucus followed by last week’s strong showing in the New Hampshire primary, has been done without the support of the acknowledged and longstanding spokesmen and leaders of African Americans. The black leaders were almost all endorsing Hillary.
Among those who endorsed Barack were the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Democratic Congressman John Conyers of Michigan. But former United Nations ambassador, Andrew Young; the BET billionaire founder Robert Johnson; Rep. John Lewis of Georgia; and the powerful, veteran Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York, who heads the House Ways and Means Committee, all came out hard for Hillary Clinton. (The Rev. Al Sharpton stayed neutral.)
Here was the first black man who had a real shot at becoming the president of the most powerful country in the world, and black American leaders were not supporting him. They had made deals with the Clintons, and they were hoping that Barack Obama would just go away.
The lesson of Barack and Hillary is that, even when it comes to race, politics is not a simple, cut-and-dried business.
In Belize, they don’t call people black. We can’t figure out why they don’t. They call us Creole and Garifuna. So, in this essay, let us call the UDP Opposition Leader a Creole contender for the Prime Ministership. The fact of the matter is that he looks black to us. But in Belize, they don’t call people black. Let it be.
When the UBAD organization, 39 years ago, began calling for the teaching of African and Mayan history in the schools of Belize, the organization was charged with introducing race into the public discourse in Belize. The fact of the matter is that there were no white slaves in the settlement of Belize. But slaves were the majority of the population. Slavery was a matter of race. Race was what had determined one’s position in British Honduras for centuries. When UBAD was established, UBAD met the historical reality of race in the public discourse of Belize, but it had been effectively swept under the rug by our colonial masters and their Anglophile apologists. UBAD educated the people of Belize for three decades to the point where Belize’s most successful party, the PUP, decided, ten years ago, that the time had come to introduce African and Mayan history into Belizean schools.
Inexplicably, the UDP, led by a Creole for the last ten years, is unable to endorse African and Mayan history. It is not for this newspaper to try to figure out what is the UDP’s problem. What is for us to say is that it is impossible for us to endorse a so-called Creole for maximum leadership who cannot or will not take the history bull by the horns.
A non-endorsement of Mr. Barrow does not mean endorsement of the PUP Leader. We see the PUP and the UDP as fundamentally the same – neoliberal in philosophy. The UDP’s campaign is based on PUP corruption. The UDP swear that they are honest. But you can find crooks in the UDP if you look closely enough. The honesty campaign is not enough for Partridge Street. There are people who are honest before they get the opportunity to steal. Straight.
We have a message for Mr. Barrow. You can win without respecting 39 years of real. But if that is how you want it, look for us on the morning of February 8. We speak truth to power. We speak for the people. Amandla. Ngawethu.