Will Obama Make a Difference?

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Natchez, MS: “Where the Old South Still Lives.” This place, the oldest town on the Mississippi River, is where I call home. Each day, I drive past antebellum homes, built on the blood, sweat, and tears of slaves that seem to shimmer under the sweltering southern sun, as magnolia trees sway gently in the breeze. A town where people travel the globe just to get a taste of what it was like when Cotton was King.

At the bustling intersection of St. Catherine Street and Liberty Road, African-Americans drive by the Forks of the Road, the second most profitable slave trading post in America during the 1800’s, without even a glance in that direction; or blow their horns to greet neighbors on Franklin Street, named after Isaac Franklin, the most notorious slave trader in the United States, who bought slaves cheap in Virginia, then shipped them to Natchez, to be sold for a large profit to plantations in the surrounding areas.

A hidden, cloudy gem on the map, Natchez is the birthplace of John R. Lynch (1847-1939), the first African-American Speaker of the House in the state of Mississippi, and also one of the first African-Americans in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was also the residence of Hiram Revels (1822-1901), the first African-American in the U.S Senate, as well U.S. Congress.

In this small corner of the world, politics is not at the forefront of the minds of many African-Americans, because the Grand Ole Party refuses to help them up, and the Dixiecrats try to keep them down. Politics as usual in Washington, DC, does not affect the daily lives of most African-Americans in Natchez, MS. Why? Because, just as the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation did nothing to ensure freedom and equality for our people in the Jim Crow South, rhetoric spouted on campaign trails does to ensure justice for all in the nationalized plantation called the United States of America.

There is bigotry in the South that underhandedly keeps African-Americans oppressed in word and deed. That is not conjecture that is fact. And because of this, many African-Americans are very apathetic towards the entire political process…including the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama.

Now, I really believe in my heart that Senator Obama is the man to bring about change. Spirits move when he speaks, he brings out the good in people that some had forgotten was there. A thirst for change that benefits all the less fortunate, not just African-Americans, is what he seeks. He is a leader that appeals to the humanity in this country, and I believe he will have that same effect as President of the United States.

I want to live in a country that I am proud of, that my sons can be proud of. A country that will not give them handouts, but attempt to make the playing field level enough where their personal success, or failure is mainly in their hands, not the menacing hands of an unjust society; and I sincerely believe that is the path this country will travel under an Obama administration.

But here in Natchez, when the name ‘Obama’ is mentioned, a look of pride, fear, and cynicism crosses the faces of many African-Americans in the community. With the intention of delving into the thoughts behind that look, I decided to ask several people in the community, both black and white, their feelings on the candidacy of Senator Obama. If they truly believed that he could win this historic election; what, if anything, would he change about the African-American condition in America; and does his meteoric rise signal a shift in the racial climate in this country?

The answers I received were illuminating, to say the least. I began this intriguing quest by asking the man that has been integral in shaping my world view…my father.
Theodore J. West- Natchez, MS Alderman 1990-2008, CEO West Enterprises.
“The name has changed, but the game is the same. Racism in the South is in-bred, handed down; it’s a mind-set, not intentional. Some white Americans have to fight with their inner selves, neighbors, classmates, church members, to be fair in their thinking.”

Natchez, MS is the oldest town on the Mississippi River: Ratio: 50% Black; 50% White. Yet, 85% of the economy is controlled by the white community.
Of course, it’s acceptable for a black candidate, such as Obama, to hold public office, because white politicians feel that he can be controlled.
In 1968, my father, a self-employed business-man ran for public office against a known Ku Klux Klansman, but loss on the first try. Eventually, he became the first African-American to serve in the city government because he was digestible/workable and willing to talk and compromise…but NEVER his principles.
My oldest brother was the first African-American to serve on the Public School Board (only because he was an attorney who graduated from Ole Miss.)
Activists were not supported by main –stream (white) America; and many were ostracized by many blacks in the community, for fear of being guilty by association.
Today, we as a people have come far in our search for the American dream; but we still have a long way to go.
Democrats put plans in action that aid African-Americans, but never to elevate African-Americans.
Welfare, but no workfare. Food stamps, but no employment. Government assistance, but no help with home ownership.
The second phase to empowerment never comes; and Obama won’t change that.
The institutionalized racism in the U.S. government, will never help the elevation of the African-American community, but will offer just enough help to keep us satisfied, and controlled.
Will Obama be President? It will be close. I’m reminded of the Tom Bradley Effect. He led in the polls by 19% on the day voters entered the booth to select the governor of California, and he lost.
Why? Because no matter what white people say, the majority of them will not vote for a black man. I’m afraid that all these so- called Obama supporters will go into the booth, and say to themselves, “A black man as President…hell no!”
I pray I’m wrong. But after witnessing white students in my dormitory at Millsap’s College throw a party the night Dr. King was shot, screaming, “We got that coon!” I fear I’m right.
Integration, without education has ruined the African-American community. We’ve taken a step back, instead of forward. Obama can’t change that. We, as a people, have to.
I’m just afraid for his life…”
African-American Natchez, MS resident

“Most people in the south, white and black are afraid of change. I believe Obama will win, but he’ll be under a microscope. The old people used to say that black folks had to be two times better to be considered equal, and 10 times better to be considered better.
Whites of the South in the 50’s wore robes and hoods. Now they wear suits and ties. But not all of them. There have been Caucasians throughout our history that have helped our cause. Obama will need these votes to win. But he will win. People are apathetic, the middle class is dwindling, and our standing in the world is diminished. Obama is the proponent of change we need.
Will he help the African-American community? Not directly, the office of President is not set up to help one particular race of people. However, he will change how our African-American youth view themselves, and open them up to a new world of possibility.”

White Natchez, MS resident

“There is an African-American condition because black people made it like that. Obama is not a savior, he won’t change anything, IF he wins, and I pray God that he doesn’t. We don’t need an affirmative-action President. If more black people worked instead of waited at the mailbox they’d be further as a race. Read some of Bill Cosby’s writings.

Sen. Obama is a skilled and gifted speaker. Yet, his speeches exhibit a lack of realism, and possibly verge on being very deceptive. He speaks in generalities, and seems to be very short on substance. For instance, he speaks often of unity, bipartisanship, hope and change. Have you ever heard him give specifics and a detailed plan of how he plans to achieve these things? My guess is he will be pushing a hard left — socialist — agenda if he makes it to the White House.”
White Natchez, MS resident

“Will Obama be President? Absolutely!
He is literally our only hope to restore our global standing, which has reached ground zero, in part, due to our racial intolerance.
I was raised in a racist family. Yet, I always abhorred that philosophy. I had my car spray-painted, was called a “nigger” lover, all because I refused to be a bigot.
A white girl in 1950’s Mississippi who believed in equality, that judged people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin…was considered a traitor, and an open target of any ignorant racially-tinged attacks.
Are there white people that won’t vote for Obama simply because he’s black? Yes. No Harvard degree will change that.
But I believe that white and black working together, as we have throughout history, will once again change history, as we did in the Civil Rights Movement.
It’s Obama’s time. He’s necessary; he’s the future of America. Yes We CAN!!!”

The above thoughts of citizens from a small town in the south left me deep in thought. Obama to most older African-Americans is just a fluke, a cruel joke on the psyches of a youthful nation who believes that white people will actually vote for an African-American man for the highest office in the land.

Some still honestly believe that he will either die at the hands of an extremist, or fail in the eyes of the world. Yet, others view him through the rosy lens of hope.

I think of the woman who believes that we, as a nation, regardless of color, will join hands, and bring forth a new existence; then I think of the African-American man with perfectly understandable, realistic views, yet, would not leave his name for this article because his opinions would undermine his business, and personal standing in an integrated community.

Will we ever be able to focus on the person, and not skin color? I’m afraid, not in Mississippi.
Not in the town where strange fruit still lingers in the memories of our elders. Not in the town where whites would rather pay to go to private school, before they attend a school where 89.9% of the student body is African-American. Not in a town, where white people dress up as Confederate soldiers to relive the “glory days,” for profit.

In this town, a President Obama may bring pride to African-Americans, but very little hope that this community will change. He will be the exception, not the rule…because “change” here is a lofty ideal, not a feasible reality.

It breaks my heart to see the vast majority of African-Americans in this country with so little faith in America. I want to scream, and try to help them see that this is a new world. Yet, then I watch a Presidential debate, and the Republican nominee insultingly assumes that a young African-American man has never heard of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae before this economic meltdown we find ourselves in, and he refers to Senator Obama as “that one.”

How can one argue against the logic that white America may not be ready for an African-American president, when blinding evidence such as that is broadcast to millions of people?
I have faith that Obama will be the next President of this country. But, as I observe the stark differences in the white reality, and the African-American reality in Natchez, MS, I know without a shadow of a doubt, that his Presidency will not change the racial disparity in the oldest town on the Mississippi River.

I think back to when I was a young girl in a tiny church with about 20 members. My grandfather would stand up, with his snow white hair in stark contrast with his dark skin and the wisdom of many hard years in his eyes. He would open his mouth, and his booming bass, with no accompaniment, would belt out the words that describe the prevailing mentality of many elder African-American citizens in Natchez as he sang the lyrics to Ol’ Man River.

The citizens of this town will just keep rolling along, regardless of who wins this election…because that’s what they do. Work hard for less wages, help a stranger in need, keep a strong faith in God, and raise children that will go further in the world, and be more successful than they themselves ever dreamed.

For better, or worse, Obama won’t change that.

This story is filed under: Arts & Culture