Interesting transcript...here are a few excerpts. Well worth a complete read.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/01/11/DI2008011102717.html
Outlook: Civil Rights Vets Won't Pass Torch to Obama
Candidate Is Succeeding Where Old Guard Failed -- and May Be Writing Their Epitaph
William Jelani Cobb
Associate Professor of History, Spelman College
Tuesday, January 15, 2008; 12:00 PM
Spelman College associate professor of history William Jelani Cobb was online Tuesday, Jan. 15 at noon ET to discuss
his Outlook article examining how the spectre of irrelevancy has made some of the nation's most prominent blacks unwilling or reticent to support Barack Obama's presidential bid.
Excerpts from Cobb's article:
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when "black president" was synonymous with "president of black America." That was the office to which Jesse Jackson appointed himself in the 1970s -- resigned to the fact that the actual presidency was out of reach.
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The most amazing thing about the 2008 presidential race is not that a black man is a bona fide contender, but the lukewarm response he has received from the luminaries whose sacrifices made this run possible. ... That's because, positioned as he is between the black boomers and the hip-hop generation, Obama is indebted, but not beholden, to the civil rights gerontocracy. A successful Obama candidacy would simultaneously represent a huge leap forward for black America and the death knell for the reign of the civil rights-era leadership -- or at least the illusion of their influence.
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It may be that, because they doubt that he can actually win, the civil rights leaders are holding Obama at arm's length in an attempt to build their houses on what looks to be the firmer ground. And there are certainly patronage benefits should Clinton win. She owes black pols, starting with Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), who first suggested that the party endorse her for a New York Senate seat. Rangel has also lined up behind Clinton.
There is far more to politics -- even racial politics -- than skin color. Still it is counterintuitive to think that Lewis, whose political career began when he was bludgeoned in Selma, Ala., fighting for black voting rights, is witnessing the rise of the first viable black presidential candidate and yet opts to support a white machine politician.
Excerpts from Washington Post's Outlook interview with Cobb about his article:
Laurel, Md.: Don't polling data show that blacks who are children of civil rights-era immigrants (like Mr. Obama) have a very different view of what it means to be black in America that the descendants of former slaves and segregation victims? Is there a credibility gap to his assertions about what it's like to "be black in America" when (the black part) of his family's history only dates to the mid-20th century in the Land of Lincoln?
William Jelani Cobb: I can't respond to polling data specifically, but I definitely think that there is a generational and historical shift. That said, I don't think the "black" experience has ever been monolithic. Obama may have an unusual variant of it but not necessarily a unique one.
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Durango, Colo.: But such is the nature of movements. Johnson was the last of the New Deal-era presidents; Carter wasn't and Clinton definitely wasn't. The end seems to be at hand for Goldwater-Reagan conservatives; not one of the candidates has the ability to hold together that coalition. And it is, sadly, the nature of organizations -- not that the Civil Rights Activists are an organization -- is to do everything within their power to defend themselves and assure their own survival. Each era needs a leader to form its coalition. Era-changing elections are about who will identify those who are ready to coalesce, and bringing them together.
William Jelani Cobb: I think you make a valid point. The thing is, though, this story didn't have to play itself out this way. Had that earlier generation taken an active role in bringing the next along as opposed to adopting a chokehold on authority we wouldn've be having this conversation. How different would Jesse Jackson's legacy have been if he had said in 1992 that his goal was to produce 200 black civic, business, arts and community leaders as opposed to desperate attempts to keep himself in the spotlight?
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Durango, Colo.: But such is the nature of movements. Johnson was the last of the New Deal-era presidents; Carter wasn't and Clinton definitely wasn't. The end seems to be at hand for Goldwater-Reagan conservatives; not one of the candidates has the ability to hold together that coalition. And it is, sadly, the nature of organizations -- not that the Civil Rights Activists are an organization -- is to do everything within their power to defend themselves and assure their own survival. Each era needs a leader to form its coalition. Era-changing elections are about who will identify those who are ready to coalesce, and bringing them together.
William Jelani Cobb: I think you make a valid point. The thing is, though, this story didn't have to play itself out this way. Had that earlier generation taken an active role in bringing the next along as opposed to adopting a chokehold on authority we wouldn've be having this conversation. How different would Jesse Jackson's legacy have been if he had said in 1992 that his goal was to produce 200 black civic, business, arts and community leaders as opposed to desperate attempts to keep himself in the spotlight?
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Washington: You said if I was weary now, I would be exhausted by November, and boy were you right! What do you make of this latest skirmish between the Clinton and Obama camps? It seems to me that the accusation that Obama is "playing the race card" is far more damaging than the drug issue or the Iraq issue because it tarnishes his clean (and let's face it, colorblind) image. It would be hard to turn Obama into Al Sharpton/Jesse Jackson, but the whole "race card" thing could tap into a well of resentment and defensiveness amongst white voters (especially with moderately inclined independents, who might oppose affirmative action and other similar policies). As you said, if Clinton is going to lose the black vote anyway, it might be in her interest to keep these issues in the news.
William Jelani Cobb: Well, I think the real issue is that even if Clinton wins the nomination she might well have alienated so many black voters that they'll ignore her in the general election. It was extremely tone-deaf to have Bob Johnson, who is widely reviled in the black community, deliver a proxy attack upon Obama. It almost certainly solidified the perception that the blacks supporting her are doing so out of self-interest not community interest.
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Takoma Park, Md.: Interesting piece. I wonder, did the same thing ever happen when America's Founding Fathers were getting old and gray? Was there a young rising star who bent them out of shape? Which Founding Father was the bitterest? Which was the most responsive to the new currents?
William Jelani Cobb: Good question. Interestingly enough, we saw a similar kind of thing with the Founders -- esp those who aligned themselves with the Federalist Party. By the end of the War of 1812, they were well on their way to political obsolescence while Jefferson-influenced Republicans became essentially heirs to a one-party state. Andrew Jackson's rise, particularly in the election of 1824 -- is probably the closest we come to seeing an upstart who shook up the early political establishment (and helped form an entirely new political order.)
