Barack Obama, His Candidacy, and His Martin Luther King Day Speech

Barrack Obama spoke at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Martin Luther King Day. You can view the video on You Tube or at the Barack Obama site. His 34-minute speech was both eloquent and stirring. I even teared up a little at toward the end. From listening to his speech, I concluded that this man is real. He does not tip toe on issues. He does not sugar coat the truth.

Barrack Obama spoke length about the "empathy deficit" that our country is suffering. He talked brought up racial injustices like the Jena 6 issues. He brought up the fact that African American's are often on the receiving end of such lack of empathy. He was also clear about the fact that "our own community is not true to King's vision of a beloved community". While he spoke about tough issues, he did not choose sides. Our country needs change and hope in many areas, and he mentioned every single one, from healthcare, to war, to education.

Regarding Obama's candidacy, it is often insinuated that just by the fact that he is a black man that black people will automatically vote for him. As a black woman, I find this to be both an insult to this presidential candidate, and an insult to intelligent black people as a whole. (I include most blacks in this intelligent group.) While black people may vote for Obama because there is a physical resemblance, or because of nothing more than melanin levels in their skin says that black people do not have the basic intelligence to speak for themselves.

I for one do not intend to vote for Obama because he looks like my brother Kenneth. I also have no intention to vote for Hillary because we both have vaginas. That is just stupid. I mean, if I had to choose between losing my woman hood, or my dark skin, how would I choose. Let us not forget the fact that I am also a conservative Christian. Perhaps I should throw my faith into the dilemma of which I would be willing to give up. All of these aspects help describe me. However, none of these aspects defines me. No Barack's skin color has very little to do with whether or not I vote for him.