Why One Issue Now?

By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Since I was well into adulthood, we didn’t have a Black person on the ballot.  All of the candidates for whom we voted were white—most of whom we never saw.  They never asked what we wanted, never told us anything they would do for us once elected, and never worked in our best interest once they got our vote.  We didn’t say bad things about them—not even among ourselves, and certainly not in the media for the whole world to hear.  Now that was a long time ago, and since I’ve been away from my place of birth for many years, maybe things have changed.  We knew certain Black leaders were paid a few dollars to make sure we voted for the lesser of two evils, and some of us longed for the day, we would have a candidate of choice.  We’d take it for granted such a person would work in our best interest!

At any rate, fast forward to now.  We finally have such a person at the highest elected level in the country.  It doesn’t get any higher than running a brilliant campaign and being elected President of the United States!  In 2008, with a diverse group of voters, we elected Barack Obama to represent all Americans without regard to race, creed, color, gender or station in life.  So, it’s not like we didn’t know the leader we were getting.  Even Black people who didn’t help Barack Obama get to the primary,  put on a happy face, and you couldn’t tell who worked harder to get him to the general election from those who did everything they could to prevent his getting there.  Sometimes, even those of us who were there from day one got pushed aside by the newcomers with their new found exuberance at the thought of our nation having its first elected President of African heritage.  We saw folks crying tears of joy, and they convinced me they were sincere that they understood he was elected President of all the people—not just Black people.

That didn’t last very long.  We hear criticism of this President that we never heard when other Presidents disappointed us or didn’t act in accordance with our wishes.  Suddenly, this President who made us so proud, who came in, rolled up his sleeves, and began pulling our country out of the ditch even before his inauguration--can do no right for certain Black people who refuse to see all the things he’s done to make our country better.  People around the world seem to get it, but some of us are so hard on this President, without giving him the benefit of doubt on any issue. 

Well, some of us worked too hard, invested too much, and waited too long to see a President like Barack Obama to suddenly begin being critical about everything he does if it doesn’t carry in large letters the word “Black”.  Most of us don’t wake up every morning asking, “What have you done for me today?” We didn’t do that with Presidents for whom we voted in the past, and we must refuse to do it with this President.  We have to stop being one issue people before it’s too late.  We must trust this President, and know that we’re included in what he does for the American people.