Night.Cap 2 - No More Excuses?

So, I have been hearing a lot about Blacks having “no more excuses,” because we now have a Black President. It has ranged from the innocent “now we have a role model,” as if we never had them before; to the thought that the “baby mama” culture has to end (I still haven’t met a single mother who wouldn’t prefer a partner, married or otherwise), or even the whacky idea that “OMG, now that Barack Obama is president, there is no more racism.” As you can see, these sorts of exclamations annoy me. I can totally see someone using Barack as a reason to get rid of affirmative action plans, or a reason to argue that there are no inherently “Black problems.” However, tonight is not about what I think! What do you guys think….

Are there any more

excuses?

P.S. If you attended the inauguration, feel free to describe your experience. This topic hit a few nerves, so if you want to read their full responses, email me!

READER COMMENTS

TheEyeOfHorus: The idea that there are no more excuses is completely ridiculous and appalling. I laugh every time I here all of that nonsense.

• Black Role Models: They have always existed and will continue to exist beyond the time of Barack Hussein Obama (BHO). We can't help who people choose to make their role models, but we do have the power to control how we are presented or who we present to our children… And then again with the multitude media access and the internet, a 5-year-old kid can find 50 Cent faster than he can find Alfred Edmunds Jr…

• "Baby Mama Culture”: ...This "culture" will never be subsided until the American Law system changes, social systems molded, institutions broken, and American culture itself learns to love and respect one another…

• No More Racism?: Racism will forever exist until the constructions designed to keep them alive are eradicated or changed (I mentioned them in number 2.) …Had BHO been from the southside of Chicago, was all African-American/black/dark/descendant of slaves maybe too?, went to Howard University… Racism is a social construction used for the control of the distribution of power… His focus is social and educational issues – let's learn to forget about racism and recognize social injustice.

• THE WORST! No More Excuses (for black people): Social Injustice will always ensure that there will be room for excuses, and so will ignorance… Especially since Affirmative Action helps out white women more than anyone else.

BHO will not make change until the people in America can change themselves – if we want all of these things to become reality, we ourselves have to believe in it and then MAKE it a reality, and act like American citizens and attack every infrastructure that wants to keep these things alive to keep all of our people separated and obliterated.

Anonymous: First of all, let me start by saying how excited I am that Barack Obama is our new president! Yes he is a black man, but in addition to that I definitely think that this country needs change and new direction in its leadership. I mean we always tell children that they can be whatever they want if they try hard enough. Even though I have always had high aspirations, I knew that some things may be more difficult because of my race and how I am perceived. But now, when I tell my niece that she can be whatever she wants, even the President, she has a real world example of someone with brown skin like hers who made it… Just because Barack Obama made it… does not mean that there are no excuses. There will always be circumstances out of one's control that effect their situation and individual success… Though I wish it weren't true, everyone will not succeed. But even without direct success, each individual attempt collectively progresses us as a people… While there may be excuses for not succeeding, there are no excuses for not trying.

CEO: Many people are inspired by Barack Obama's election. Some people see it as an ending point. It's more of a starting point. As Americans, this means that America has come far enough to look past a man's race and more on qualifications for the job. Given that, his election also means that there is a "new" beginning for African-Americans. There is a renewed pride in the ability of our race; specifically, African-American men who have been previously viewed as ignorant thugs, drug addicts, entertainers, or athletes… There is a lot of responsibility that has been placed in our hands… Right now, being smart is cool; Barack Obama is responsible for that… seeing Barack Obama become President shows that Blacks (Black men) can succeed on an intellectual level.

Currently, I still feel that I am racially profiled and negatively stereotyped despite the fact that I am a college educated, kind, intelligent Black man [STEPH SIDENOTE: HE REALLY IS!]. But now, I have renewed hope that can and will change IF we … strive to improve as a community and individually and know that we can achieve…

One of my biggest concerns is that people will feel entitled because of the election and put forth less effort because they can always say "My President is Black". I truly hope that this concern will not come to fruition… Hopefully, one day there will not be a need for Affirmative Action or similiar programs. But that day does not appear to be soon. It might never come if we don't seize this opportunity to become better individuals and a better people. The road to success is not easy. It takes work. I hope enough of us take that road instead of the easy route, which is fraught which complacency and comfort with the status-quo. I hope you all join me in the journey down the road of success.

JT: This notion that Obama will teach all the Negroes to be respectable is driving me nuts! Recently, I tuned into some foolish conversation on facebook about how Obama was going to inspire little Negro children to finally close the achievement gap. Much of this infuriating conversation hinged upon whether Obama, the mythic great black hope, could get neglectful parents and their unruly little bastard children to shed their 'culture of underachievement?' What the fuck does any of that mean? Neither 'parental neglect' nor 'a culture of underachievement' substantively answer for the major disparities in education, known as the 'achievement gap.'

How can social scientists even statistically group 'unfit parents' or a cultural group of 'underachievers?' Much like trite, problematic, and racist notions of a supposed culture of poverty and the mythical black underclass with welfare queen and hypersexual baby daddy to boot, 'underachiever' and unfit parent (in this racialized sense) are not statistically substantive or significant categories. Who identifies themselves or can be identified as an underachiever? …

Notably, these racist discourses place the proverbial ball in black folks court, rather than calling for changes in American political, economic, and social structures. So, Obama can help to fix the problems that Black Americans face if he starts to reconstruct the institutions that constitute and recreate white supremacy, not by teaching us all how to be respectable… Black America is in turmoil, but it's not disconnected from white supremacy, capitalism, and heteropatriarchy.

Donda: To say that there are no more excuses is jumping the gun. Yes we have reached a milestone but as Steph pointed out, we have reached them before… Obama is a great inspiration indeed and he has made history in more ways then one, but he didn’t get there overnight; we cant expect everything to change overnight either. We have to always remember his hardwork along with the many other pioneers and start the change within ourselves! Your are still your biggest excuse for not getting ahead.