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[*H*]A dozen Black men protest University of Miami Obama campaign rally
By Reginald James
MANAGING EDITOR
For the second time in two months, a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-ILL) was interupted by protestors. The irony to many is that the protestors have been Black.
'Blacks against Obama' protest at campaign rally' video
*Editors Note: Video posted and edited by GOP member
According to news reports and available internet videos, the group who interupted the University of Miami rally were mostly Black men. Their signs read, "Blacks against Obama", "Jesse Jackson hates Obama," and "Obama endorsed by the KKK." The last signed refers to the endorsement of Obama by Senator Robert Byrd, a Grand Dragon in the KKK.
He attempted to calm the protestors down by stated, "“Hey young people out there – it’s no problem for you to put your signs up, but let everybody – let me finish what I have to say, alright?" When the protestors continued, Obama fans attempted to drown out the demonstration by chanting "Yes we can" while waving matching campaign signs.
The protestors were escorted out of the crowd by security forces, with what appeared to be no incidences. The protestors left while holding up their signs as the crowd cheered loudly.
After the men were taken out of the stadium, Obama said "Alright, let's get back to work," to the excitement of the crowd. "Settle down, everybody," he added.
The men are believed to be a part of a group called Michael Warns, as "Michaelwarns.com" was written on the bottom of most of the protest signs.
A youtube video posted by "Michael the Black Man" after the protest suggest that Obama is the "beast" or "anti-christ" warned about in the Bible.
"Obama the image of the Beast" Video by MichaelWarns.com
A separate but not completely unrelated protest was staged by a group of Black people in St. Petersburg in August. The demonstrators, a part of the International Democratic Uhuru Movement (InDPUM).
The demonstrators shouted, "What about the Black community, Obama?" The protestors were also shouted down by Obama supporters. "Baarack obama is running for president and he's running around representing the interests of everybody except for his own community, the Black community," said Diop Olibaga, an InDPUM organizer. "So we put the question right on front street: What about the Black community Obama?"
"What about the Black community, Obama?" Youtube Video
2 comments:
Well, as an African-American progressive, I have my issues with Barack Obama. Nevertheless, considering that these incidents did happen in Florida, they have the fingerprints of a Rightwing Republican attack.
For one thing, that stuff about Sen. Robert Byrd being a member of the Ku Klux Klan -- seventy years ago -- is an old Black Republican "talking point." The rightwingers hate Byrd now because, among other things, he has been a ferocious critic of "Our Dear Leader" George W. Bush and Mr. Bush's war in Iraq. Also notice these Florida "radicals" had nothing to say about Democratic Party complicity in the "stolen election" in Florida in 2000, an event which, of course, all "conservatives" think was just peachy.
In brief, reports of Black "protestors" at Obama events must be taken with a very large grain of salt.
Interesting article. I think that African people should not be protesting Obama, but making sure that our needs are a part of his agenda. We cannot allow the candidacy to be co-opted by other people. It would be a crying shame if the "First Black President" presided over a time in which the masses of African people suffered even more, or Africom began bombing African nations. Considering that Obama has not "promised" African people anything, it is likely we won't get anything.
I think that progressive Black folks just have to demand and command power. Even under an Obama candidacy, and we can't be afraid to criticize him. If he becomes president, a whole lot of racial undertones will get more blatant. And we'll have to do what Obama strives to do, overcome and transcend.
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