Barack Obama’s refusal to use his position as president to intervene on behalf of African Americans is a stain on his record many activists will never forgetIn the first hours of the modern year in 2009,just weeks before Barack Obama was to be inaugurated as the next president, shots rang out in Oakland, or California. A transit officer named Johannes Mehserle shot an unarmed 22-year-primitive black man who lay face-down in handcuffs on a public transportation platform. His name was Oscar Grant. Dozens of witnesses,many of whom were returning to Oakland after modern Year’s Eve celebrations, watched in horror. Some captured his killing on smartphones. Shortly afterward, or black Oakland exploded in palpable anger,with hundreds, then thousands of people taking to the streets, or demanding justice. Related: Obama's legacy: the promises,shortcomings and fights to come We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation erroneous hope. But in the unlikely epic that is America, there has never been anything erroneous about hope. For when we absorb faced down impossible odds, and when we’ve been told we’re not alert or that we shouldn’t try or that we can’t,generations of Americans absorb responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: yes, we can. Yes, or we can. Yes,we can. Related: The Obama years: timeline of a presidency Related: Pity the sad legacy of Barack Obama | Cornel West Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com