Comments on: Transcript: Barack Obama's Speech On Race

[kat1park]

It sickens me that a major network like CBS News would allow themselves to be used in Clinton''s plot to try and overtake the democratic nomination process. We the people, would actually prefer a more perfect union. With Clinton or McCain, nothing will change. Obama ''08

[obamagrls-bf]

Now I ''ve a feeling that OBAMA will loose gen election by telling the TRUTH...

sometimes its hard to sallow a biiter truth ... after the speech I''ve no doubts that he is a Honest man....

He belives in truth and told the truth ...

I know many american''s don''t like to hear the truth ... Knowing that this truth cost him the election , but a passsionate Obama supporter I will vote for HIM...

ASTLEAST HIS SPEECH WINS MY VOTE IF NOTHING ELSE ...

perhaps the best , inspiring and most courageous speech pepole have heard from HIM...

[fatoldbroad]

Well said, alton61. I am printing this transcript now so that I can have my students analyze the argument Obama makes. It IS time that we talk about race, and Barack Obama is in a unique position to address these issues eloquently, sensibly, but CANDIDLY. Only the most naive of individuals can think that this country will heal without addressing the pain and mistakes of its past. Until we talk about the uncomfortable issue of race, we will remain as "angry and confused" and unenlightened as we have been for the past 50 years.

[kolasea]

READ FOR YOURSELF HE LIED

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0
803/14/acd.01.html

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, Anderson, you know, I strongly condemn the statements that have been shown on the tape.

I have to confess that those are not statements that I ever heard when I was sitting in the pews at this church. This is a church that I have been a member of for 20 years. This is a well-established, typical, historically African-American church in the South Side of Chicago, with a wonderful set of ministries.

OBAMA: And, as I said, Anderson, if I had heard any of those statements, I probably would have walked up, and I probably would have told Reverend Wright that they were wrong.

But they were not statements that I heard when I was in church.

COOPER: So, no one in the church ever said to you, man, last week, you missed this sermon; Reverend Wright said this; or...

OBAMA: No.

COOPER: I mean, I think I read in your books that you listened to tapes of Reverend Wright when you were at Harvard Law School.

OBAMA: I did.

COOPER: So, you had no idea?

OBAMA: I understand.


In his book from my father chapter 14 Obama speaks of heraing sermons where write spoke of heroshima Page 293 and also says he agrred with church blacl creed page page 284

So why would I trust him now, I did once but cant now.

[kolasea]

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0
803/14/acd.01.html

READ FOR YOURSELF

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, Anderson, you know, I strongly condemn the statements that have been shown on the tape.

I have to confess that those are not statements that I ever heard when I was sitting in the pews at this church. This is a church that I have been a member of for 20 years. This is a well-established, typical, historically African-American church in the South Side of Chicago, with a wonderful set of ministries.

OBAMA: And, as I said, Anderson, if I had heard any of those statements, I probably would have walked up, and I probably would have told Reverend Wright that they were wrong.

But they were not statements that I heard when I was in church.

COOPER: So, no one in the church ever said to you, man, last week, you missed this sermon; Reverend Wright said this; or...

OBAMA: No.

COOPER: I mean, I think I read in your books that you listened to tapes of Reverend Wright when you were at Harvard Law School.

OBAMA: I did.

COOPER: So, you had no idea?

OBAMA: I understand.


In his book from my father chapter 14 Obama speaks of heraing sermons where write spoke of heroshima Page 293 and also says he agrred with church blacl creed page page 284

So why would I trust him now, I did once but cant now.

[purplestarr1]

What Barack did was express what most of your Black friends won''t tell you. That there are still hurting people in our community. Older people hurting because they weren''t afforded the opportunities because of the color of their skin. Younger people hurting due to the fact that because their parents were denied exposure and education because of race issues they haven''t been able to experience some of the things that other people have. Rev. Wright is a symptom of these issues. He''s not a bad person, it''s his PERSPECTIVE that makes him bitter. And unless you''ve experienced life from his perspective you could never understand. Barack simply said what most people won''t. We have issues as a country. Until it becomes ALL of our concern to deal with them, we''ll get nowhere.

[purplestarr1]

I think Obama''s speech helped clarify the perspective of someone like Rev. Wright and the steps needed to heal some of the wounds Black and White americans have toward race. As a Black American, a question I get often from white friends is "Why are Black people so angry?" "Why can''t they just move past slavery?" What people fail to understand is that the aftermath of slavery was in some instances just as cruel as the institution of slavery itself. While slaves were freed from plantations hundreds of years ago, another institutionalized form of slavery took its place. Blacks were unable to get loans, be properly educated, and hired in white collar positions. The effects have been generational! Not until recently have we begun to see more Blacks in executive positions and amassing wealth. I have multiple degrees from notable Universities and STILL get mistaken for the Administrative Assistant vs. a Senior VP when I walk into a meeting with all white colleagues.

[aldon61]

I''m 66, white and male. I have never heard a better oratory than what senator Obama gave yesterday. It is high time that our nation address the subject of race and do so openly. This speech confronted an issue that continues to divide our country. To not applaud it and learn from it would be a huge mistake. I sincerely hope that one day senator Obama''s speech becomes required reading for our nation''s students. Our country has been divided for the past 7+ years; we need unification. I see in senator Obama, an individual that really wants us to come together. Senators McCain and Clinton cannot bring us together, they are "status Quo" candidates. It is now time for all of us to go on from here; let the issues, not race or gender determine our choice for president.

[fuzzybear9]

Hello American Viewers

Fuzzy are you going to say something upbeat today?

Well yes and no.

rather than talk about Barrak Obama and his views on racial equality means, I would rather focus on the
Constitution.

Now you have recently heard where the Black Mayor of
The District of Columbia also known as Washington D.C.
has determined that since Washington D.C. is now a seperate govemental entity from the rest of the Nation
they no longer need to respect the rights of the Constitution which says
In order to maitain a proper State Militia the rights of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.

No this Mayor wants to assert that Washington D.C.
is a Federal State which has the right to regulate
Arms. which is a violation to the Constitution that says the Distict Of Columbia shall not be considered as a State.

Otherwise you have a Federal State.

All this comes from these Hawvard Law School graduates.
the Desposts and Traitors of the Nation.

Sincerely getting ready to take the Militia into Washington D.C. Bear
Fuzzy

[whatithink-2009]

We just recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the legalization of interracial marriages throughout all of America as a result of the ruling of Loving versus Virginia.

The trial judge made this amazing comment in 1959:

%u201C Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix. "

Oh, I wish it had all ended when slavery ended.

[craigh9]

WOW - and we white folks wonder why black church leaders go a little over the top - what with the majority of posts dripping in hatred, fear and bigotry is it any wonder the black community have major concerns?

[whatithink-2009]

Also, there are a lot of older black people who do not trust the U.S. government. Certain events like the Tuskegee Study that ended on in 1972! created much bad blood (figuratively and literally).

[whatithink-2009]

guyfrompa45,

You forget one key thing. These people have no real power. What about the racists who have the true power? What about many senators who have professed these leanings? Trent Lott once made a huge speech in support of the Dixiecrats and Sthrom Thurman. Ron Paul even made some comments and is supported by right wing racist organizations. Yet, this is fine I guess?

[whatithink-2009]

Many people forget that there is a sense of justice and humanity in about all of us. In order to enslave another, one has to surpress that sense. It takes a lot to get a person to view another as mere cattle. This required a long and drawn out campaign to take away any humanity that one might feel for another. To remove all sense of empathy and connection. 300 years of creating a mentality doesn''t go away in 40 years. If the civil rights movement proved anything, it proved that some people would prefer to change political parties than change mentalities.

[whatithink-2009]

AZOLDTIMER,

This is where I COMPLETELY disagree with you. I love this country dearly. I served in the military and was willing to give my life for it. Yet, I feel that through this love I have to admit that there are things that are FAR FROM perfect here. People acts as though you must only say positive things about something to prove you love it. I disagree. True love comes from seeing both the good and the bad. Otherwise, you are living in a fantasy.

[azoldtimer]

This speech is not about race, it is about Obama, and changes nothing. It does however illuminate some unsavory parts of Obama''s character and his bad judgment.
Last week he said he never heard any disparaging remarks while he sat in the pews. In his speech he admitted that he did.
He said his white Grandmother loves him above all else in life, but apparently he does not feel the same way about her as he did not hesitate to say hurtful things about her in a nationally televised speech. Even if she did what he said, she did not do it for public consumption as Wright did.
This guy is a typical transparent flip flopping politician in a very stylish controlled package.
For someone who advertises himself as the racial healer he falls far short in that respect.
If he gets elected how long will it be before he throws the whole country under the bus.

[whatithink-2009]

guyfrompa45,

It''s time to move on both parts. Trust me after slavery ended, blacks were looking to move on. What came about? The Klan and Jim Crow. Until we accept that we have all been affected by it, we will not be able to overcome it. It was a strong stitch in our history like Christianity. In fact, some tried to use Christianity to justify it.

[whatithink-2009]

Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town by Nate Blakeslee

Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, Revised Edition by James H. Jones and Jones

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington

Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison by Allen Hornblum

War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America''s Campaign to Create a Master Race by Edwin Black

Fire in a Canebrake: The Last Mass Lynching in America by Laura Wexler

[karner3]

Funny.
In Obama''s speech, when I heard the phrase "stained by this nation''s original sin of slavery"
I thought - that''s such an original and amazing turn of phrase.
The it occurred to me to Google it.
Up popped:
The Complete Idiot''s Guide to the American Presidents.
"The American terrain was infinitely stained by the original sin of slavery".

[whatithink-2009]

Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America by James Allen, Jon Lewis, Leon F. Litwack, and Hilton Als

Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America by Elliot Jaspin

The Burning: Massacre, Destruction, and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 by Tim Madigan


Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson

Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South (Jules and Frances Landry Award) by Dan T. Carter

Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism by James W. Loewen

Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice by David M. Oshinsky


Urban Injustice: How Ghettos Happen by David, M.D. Hilfiker and Marian Wright Edelman

Fighting Racism in World War II by C. L. R. James

The Dred Scott Decision (Cornerstones of Freedom) by Brendan January

Running on Race: Racial Politics in Presidential Campaigns 1960-2000 by Jeremy D. Mayer


Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion by Gary Webb