"We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

"We can do that.

"But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

"That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

"This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

"This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

"This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

"I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation�the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

"There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

"There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

"And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

"She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

"She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

"Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

"Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."

""I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

"But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins."

You can watch or read the whole speech here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=3511

Sandy Rios continues to talk about how African Americans should love the United States of America. African Americans do not love America!!! Why should we? We tolerate America. Give us equality, then we can love America.

Sandy Rios talks about Mrs. Obama saying that for the first time she was proud of America like it is something wrong with her statement. Here is a hint Sandy, most African Americans feel the same way. Why should an African American feel proud about a country that has oppressed them for over 400 years? Wake up and smell the coffee. If you have not walked in a Black man/woman's shoes, don't try to tell us how we should feel about America.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's statement "God Damn America" may be the correct statement for America to wake up to the way of life they have inflicted and gave Black America. It appears America does not want to look in the mirror. The reason white racism still exist is because white America wants to say it does not exist. Racism in America, is alive and well.

If racism is not alive and well, let us get on with the business of electing a President on the issues of America, such as equal, adequate and meaningful education, employment, healthcare and world peace. If America is not a racist country, why are these two white individuals stewing this pot of making Obama responsible for another person actions and words. It appears they may have a touch of racism in their blood.

I belong to a very prominent church. My pastor is known around the world. I have been at my church for over 14 years. I love my pastor, but guess what. My pastor does not tell me how to think, feel or behave. Just because he talks about how a person should think, feel or behave does not mean that is the way I will think, feel and behave. I am not the kind of Christian who is a door mat. You cannot walk all over me and expect me to turn the other cheek. I am not the kind of follower that will follow my pastor anywhere. My pastor does not think, feel and behave for me. He thinks, feels and behaves for himself.

How should we label this act?

March 2, 2008

The Political & Cultural State of America & Social Change

I am a student with Walden University, in its PhD Human Services program. I am in the dissertation stage of the program. This brief writing is on how “real” social change is beginning to take place in America.

Scott London (1996) authored “Understanding Change: The Dynamics of Social Transformation.” This article articulates how change takes place, our need for it and our resistance to it. My professor, Dr. Monica Gordon, suggested I select one of the three salient points the author made about social change, assess the author's perspective and say whether this perspective resonates with my experience with my research population or any other social situation in which I am familiar. I choose to elaborate, briefly, on the Presidential race of 2008 and its efforts toward social change.

In a brief discussion on individual change, London draws from Peter Senge (1990) and his “personal mastery” suggesting individuals achieving change must center on a fundamental question of “whether they are willing to change in the first place.” He offers two additional questions, “Is a person prepared to open up to new inputs, insights, and understandings? Is he or she prepared to be changed in the process of effecting change?” With these questions, London suggests social change takes place through individual motivation.

It is my belief the political stage in American has set the theatre for some dramatic social changes now and in the future. The 2008 Presidential race between Democratic opponents Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton seem to be putting in motion change strategies for individual motivation. The change strategies appear to be drawing individuals who have not been involved in the voting processes of America.

The thought of a black man and a woman running for the Presidential office of the United States is social change in itself. It seems talk of this type of change, Obama and Clinton, has aroused the interest of those who are seeking a different government of power, equality and a way of life for America. The individual aspirations and inspirations of Obama and Clinton have stirred up the individual aspirations and motivations of others, thus producing individual motivation toward social change.

The discussions and debates by Obama and Clinton on “their” main issues about the war and its consequences, foreign policy and healthcare are monumental to most Americans. These points of concern are important, but there is an even greater concern by those who have been motivated and energized. Obama and Clinton’s debates have drawn many voters out of their hiding places, with their attempts to not offend their constituents and each other. Nevertheless, Obama and Clinton seem to make elusive more important issues such as poverty, housing, tuition cost and race relations through this paradigm of “do no harm.”

However, the social change movement created by this Presidential race is drawing a generation of voters who are bringing their parents out of the woodwork to vote. This phenomenon has additional factors. These new voters are interested in whether they will be able to afford or keep their houses, whether they will be able to afford the rising cost in tuition for education of their children, that is superseding present income levels, and whether race relations will become stable enough for those who are baby boomers transitioning with those who are from generation X or Y. Generation Y appears to have very few issues with race relations. Where is this discussion?

London suggests effective change strategies must build on the caring and personal commitment of all the players involved. London quotes social philosopher Phillip Slater’s (1991) stating “People are reluctant to change because change is uncomfortable and demands a great deal of energy. Therefore when people ask where to start working for change, the answer is that since change makes heavy demands on motivation and energy, you should start where you care the most and do what you like to do the most-that will be where you contribute the most energy and be most effective.”

What Obama and Clinton have done is monumental in form and scope, and should not be taken lightly. The individual motivation and energy of this Presidential race will impact generations to come, bringing with it a social change phenomenon that will ignite an America having global effects on communities and the world.

References:

Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. New York: Currency Doubleday

Slater, P. (1991). A Dream Deferred. Boston: Beacon Press.