An Open Letter To Black People RE: Barack Obama/Jesus…

Dear Black People,

Barack Obama is not your new Jesus.

*Not Barack Obama

Since the election and leading up to the inauguration, I’ve been bombarded with all kinds of emails and forwards about Barack Obama and Obama related paraphernalia from t-shirts to coins to plates to calendars and I’m here to say, on the record, that we’ve gone too far.  It seems like every day I encounter another piece of Obama related messiah worship and another black person thinking that somehow their vote for Obama gives them the right to cede personal responsibility and accountability to a man who’s a mere mortal, at best, and a politician, at worst.

Black people, please stop thinking that Barack Obama cares about you.

Now, let me clarify… I’m sure that as a collective community and as a people Obama has feelings about and for the black experience that no other president before him has and that’s a good thing… But you personally and your opinions about “black” issues, he doesn’t care.

Just so you know, Barack Obama doesn’t have time to care about the following black issues:

-Reparations
-The NBA
-Police Brutality
-Teen Pregnancy
-What happened to UPN
-Dogfighting
-Whether or not to put Big Momma in a home
-Pardoning your favorite rapper who might be in jail (keep ya head up Kool C!)
-Whether or not universal health care will cover “The Sugar”
-The Williams Sisters

He will not show up at your birthday party and turn water into wine.  He will not have five fish and two loaves of bread and feed you and 10,000 of your friends.  When he travels abroad, he will use Air Force One and not walk across the ocean, and he’s not going to be able to raise any of your dead homies from the grave.

Nope.

Nope.

Nope.

He’s a politician and a good one at that, but if you’re looking for him to be your messiah, please reconsider.

I’m saying this for two reasons.  The first being that I’m tired of seeing this messiahfication of the man.  The hats, the shirts, the calendars, the framed pictures and the like. I was in Atlanta last week and someone came up to my car and offered to sell me a veritable myriad of Obama related merchandise and when I declined he said, “We’ll see what the nigga does for YOU then!” as if the president elect was Santa Claus and knew if I was sleeping, awake, bad, or good.  I know what Obama’s probably going to do for me and my expectations are quite reasonable… hopefully he’ll find a way to lower my taxes and keep businesses afloat so I can stay in a job.  That’s about it.  If he does one or the other, I’m quite happy.

The second reason why I’m saying this is because I don’t want to get to June and have black folks get their collective feelings hurt when they realize that Obama isn’t coming to your house to personally say grace over your food and smoke a joint with you.  I know what going to happen, once everyone comes off this Obama high and realizes that the man is a mortal, folks are gonna start trating him worse than other poiticians before…

“Fuck that nigga the president!”

“Man, we shoulda elected that old muthafucka McCain!”

“Obama didn’t make my teeth whiter!”

I can see it now.  Barber shops and beauty salons all over America brimming with vitriol from black folks upset that Obama didn’t help them lose weight, didn’t take their kids to school, and forgot to call them on their birthdays.

I’m just saying folks, let’s be reasonable.

That’s not saying we can’t be excited for change and happy to have him in office… Its just saying that there’s limits to what the man can really do.

That said, I got them Obama prayer cloths for sale for $19.99… Holla at me!

Sincerely,

R. Corey Richardson