Date: Wed , 7 May 2008 07:31:07 -0700

To The Editor:

As a 78 year old American of African descent, I feel compelled to
respond to all this 'much ado about nothing' when it comes to the
statement that Michelle Obama made about the fact that this is the first
time in her adult life that she has been proud to be an American.

The country needs to hear this from the Black perspective.

Long before I was born, my grandfather Joseph Burleson, owned a
considerable amount of land in oil rich Texas. Because during that era,
Blacks could not vote, nor could they contest anything in the courts of
the United States, my grandfather's land was STOLEN by his White
neighbor. My grandfather, who was literate and better educated than my
grandmother, drove to town. Seeing my grandfather leave, the covetous
neighbor asked my grandmother to show him the deed to the property. He
snatched it. She could not insist that he give it back, nor could she
have reported this THEFT to the sheriff because of the fact that Blacks
had no rights in the 1800s. The prevailing law at that time was he who
held the deed owned the land. Do you think that is something that I am
PROUD OF? Right now I should be living off the oil and gas royalties,

In 1934 when my dad drove us to Texas to meet his family, when he
stopped to purchase gasoline, his daughters and wife were not allowed to
use the washroom. As a man it was easier for his to relieve himself in
the bushes, but not for the females. We were, however, reduced to having
to go in the bushes, also. Do you think I am PROUD OF THAT?

In 1938 when my oldest sister went to enroll in Hyde Park High School,
she was told by the counselor that she did not want to take college
preparatory courses, she wanted to study domestic science. Do you think
I'm PR OUD OF THAT? Of course, when Beatrice Lillian Hurley-Burleson went
to school the next day, that was the last time anyone thought that the
Burleson girls wanted to study domestic science.

When in 1943 my parents attempted to buy the 2 flat at 5338 South
Kenwood, where we had lived since 1933, in Hyde Park, Chicago, IL we
were told that we could not buy it because there was a restrictive
covenant that said that the property was never to be sold to 'Negroes.'
Do you think I am PROUD OF THAT?

In 1950 when I graduated from college, I was unable to get a job
because I was considered 'overqualified,' the code word for they would
not hire me because of my race. All of the want ads called for Japanese
Americans or Neisis (the word given to Japanese Americans at that
time). Do you think that was something that I should have been PROUD OF?
I understood that America was trying to make up for the interring of
innocent and patriotic Americans who were our enemy by association.

My cousin's barbershop was bombed in Mississippi in the 50's because he
was encouraging Black people to register to vote. His wife who had
earned a Masters Degree from Northwestern University lost her position
as the principal of the local school because of the voter registration
activities. Is that something I should be PROUD OF?

Now we get to Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor of the Obama family.
Rev. Wright like so many religious zealots overstates many things, that
many of his members do not agree with. To suggest that Senator Obama
should leave the church of his choice is not only a double standard, but
it is absurd. Would any of the talking heads who are so alarmed by Rev.
Wright's thoughts and speeches suggest that Catholics should abandon
their faith or denounce and reject the Pope because so many priests have
molested children. These children were exploited and taken advantage of
and they had no choice to even know they could resist, reject and
denounce. To me the situations are parallel, except for the fact that
the priests behavior is a physical violation of the innocence of
children who are marred for life; and the priests behavior is a crime.
Rev. Wright's speeches are just words, that one can listen to or not,
the members have a choice. Should Governor Romney denounce and reject
the Mormon Church because some of their members practice polygamy?

As Senator Obama has previously stated, we have entered the silly
season.

Barack Obama is an adult, and most importantly, he is an exceptionally
intelligent adult. Like most of us adults, fortunately, we do not accept
all we hear or see. If we did, the world would be more amoral, debased
and perverted than the world of today is.

I see all these 'so called' pondering's an attempt to marginalize the
candidacy of Senator Barack Obama. I cannot truly call this racism
because some ignorant Blacks have also spoken disparagingly about him.

I accept this as the darker side of mankind who because of their own
inadequacies, they project their deficiencies on others. Barack Obama is
a very rare individual, the likes of whom the world seldom sees.
Like most geniuses, they are often misunderstood. They are objects of
envy and jealousy. They are suspect because they soar above the average
man who does not have the intellectual ability to understand the
greatness of special people. They are also targets to be pulled down to
the level of the mediocre who cannot stand to see an individual with
deep convictions and high standards.

We have not seen a phenomena like Barack Obama in many years and many
generations. Like Ghanda, like Jesus, like Einstein, like Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., like Mother Theresa, genetically, intellectually and
spiritually , these people offer the world so much, but they are often
maligned and misunderstood.

Barack Obama is a Christian in the true sense of the word. A true
Christian loves his fellow man unconditionally. A true Christian wants
the best and tries to bring out the best in his fellow man. A true
Christian wants to unite and bring the world together in peace and
harmony. This is what Senator Obama stands for; but, unfortunately, he
has had to get off point to answer these false charges, innuendoes, and
just plain lies.

We are in the presence of an angel unaware in Senator Barack Obama; and
this country needs him, more than he needs us. He is the only person at
this time in history who can restore respect for America with the
worlds' people. Because of his family background, the influence of his
beloved mother who instilled great values in him, the influence of his
absent father who vicariously inspired a son to go to Harvard as the
father had done, the influence of a minister who brought him to an
understanding of the value and meaning of Christianity, the influence of
a brilliant Harvard educated wife who inspires him and keeps him
grounded; he is the epitome of a citizen of the world. He is of the
world because the world is in him; and this is what America needs to
bring us out of the abyss to which we have sunk in the eyes of the
world.

Like, Michelle Obama, after living in this country all of my 78 years,
loving my country and not understanding why my country has not loved me,
I now for the first time in my adult life feel PROUD OF MY COUNTRY
because I sense a maturing, a recognition of talent and character, and
not color, and a field of candidates aspiring to lead this nation coming
from very diverse backgrounds of gender, religious beliefs, national
origin, ethnicity, age and experiences. This to me is the HOPE that
America is coming into her own and will begin to CHANGE and will embrace
the philosophy upon which this country was founded, where all men are
created equal and are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.

Now I truly believe, YES WE CAN!


Eleanor P. Batts

Amazing write up. I hope all the idiot news quick to bash Obama for his association with Rev. Wright will show this.

Goodjob ~Antidote~!


Goodjob I say!

Leave those jobless white people alone. They have to much inheritance to fool around with and do not have to bother with any kind of gainful employment.

Let us see what kind of story they would come up with next.

Spermdrops:

Goodjob ~Antidote~!


Goodjob I say!

Leave those jobless white people alone. They have to much inheritance to fool around with and do not have to bother with any kind of gainful employment.

Let us see what kind of story they would come up with next.

Honey I missed you like crazy , Where have you been? , I am knackered, Exams, work, evaluations, they are killing me,

Happy Mothers Day to you dear and continue doing an excellent job, Remember we cannot contribute to the statistic, we have to rise beyond that lovey,

Take care and see you around,

wendymanda:

Amazing write up. I hope all the idiot news quick to bash Obama for his association with Rev. Wright will show this.

As usual, you know they wouldn't pay heed since he is not one of their typical candidates, Let's see what transpire at the Convention.

~Antidote~:

Honey I missed you like crazy , Where have you been? , I am knackered, Exams, work, evaluations, they are killing me,

Happy Mothers Day to you dear and continue doing an excellent job, Remember we cannot contribute to the statistic, we have to rise beyond that lovey,

Take care and see you around,


As usual, you know they wouldn't pay heed since he is not one of their typical candidates, Let's see what transpire at the Convention.

The usual of course. But been having fun on other websites too and causing lots of "trouble" as usual. You know some of us are too old to change. Yes baby doll, see you around. Keep the fantastic write-ups coming in!

Love you plenty! See me well to tRoOE!

All this is meaningless considering that all those who see the Reverend Wrights character as a problem, are whites. Can we for once have objective conversations without making it a WHITE ON BLACK issue only when there are many black and african people out there who have come out to state that they did not think Obama should be associated with people like reverend white??
Glad to know this 78 year old woman has an opinion but there are other 78 year old black women and men out there who are on the other side of the debate. Are they wrong then??

[url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-obama-wright-05-_may05,0,3836879.story]Oprah Winfrey was uncomfortable with Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons, Newsweek says
Talk-show host left church, didn't want to offend her audience, associates say[/url]



Associates of Oprah Winfrey tell Newsweek that she stopped attending the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.'s Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago during the 1990s in part because of the tone of his sermons.

According to two sources, Winfrey was never comfortable with the tone of Wright's more incendiary sermons, which she knew had the power to damage her standing as America's favorite daytime talk-show host.

"Oprah is a businesswoman, first and foremost," said one longtime friend, who requested anonymity when discussing Winfrey's personal sentiments. "She's always been aware that her audience is very mainstream, and doing anything to offend them just wouldn't be smart. She's been around black churches all her life, so Rev. Wright's anger-filled message didn't surprise her. But it just wasn't what she was looking for in a church."

The magazine also quotes an unidentified Barack Obama campaign adviser saying that Obama's attachment to Wright flowed in part from the role the pastor and church provided in the fatherless Obama's search for identity as a black man.


"Early on, he was in search of his identity as an African-American and, more importantly, as an African-American man," the adviser said. "Rev. Wright and other male members of the church were instrumental in helping him understand the black experience in America.

"Winfrey wasn't going for that. She's secure in her blackness, so that didn't have a hold on her."

When one attends a church, I don't think it is because of the love "of the pastor". I would have left the church a long time ago like Oprah. Not for my audience but because I don't want to offend myself. I do it for myself and my peace of mind. Not for anybody's gratification or acceptance.

Obama is an adult and should be held accountable for his words, thoughts, actions and deeds alone. Not to be held guilty by association.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is just making a mountain out of a molehill.

As usual when joblessness reigns supreme. It all comes down to racial politics between Obama and McCain. Just as was predicted at the beginning of this year.

We shall now have a good understanding on how the "white" mind works!

Spermdrops:

When one attends a church, I don't think it is because of the love "of the pastor". I would have left the church a long time ago like Oprah. Not for my audience but because I don't want to offend myself. I do it for myself and my peace of mind. Not for anybody's gratification or acceptance.

Obama is an adult and should be held accountable for his words, thoughts, actions and deeds alone. Not to be held guilty by association.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is just making a mountain out of a molehill.

As usual when joblessness reigns supreme. It all comes down to racial politics between Obama and McCain. Just as was predicted at the beginning of this year.

We shall now have a good understanding on how the "white" mind works!

Look,  the highlighted is exactly what is happening here. The reason why Obama is being questioned the way he is is simply cause he did not only sit and listen to his pastor's speeches for 20 years but he actually built a very close relationship with the man and he made that clear on so many occassions. Obama is not being held responsible for Wright's talk. That is not what this is about but he is being held to the same standards any person would anyother who chooses to associate with persons who spew venom for 20 years and sees absolutely nothing wrong with it until when he suddenly decides to run for president and that venom comes to the attention of the public.

There is a popular proverb in Africa that says SHOW ME YOUR FRIENDS AND I WILL TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE. It is not tell you who your friends are but WHO YOU ARE. If you apply that wisdom here, you would maybe see why people, even people in the black community have a problem with the fact that he not only attended the church for 20 years but had a close relationship with the man enough to make him a part of his campaign cabinet and specified the man was his SPIRITUAL HEAD.


Imagine meeting someone who told you he worshipped at the sango shrine where you know blood sacrifices are being made and all sorts of voodoo stuff, 20 years, suddenly tell you that he did not know it was a sango shrine?? Or worse, He did not know that the priest made blood sacrifices to sango in the same shrine, even with all the years of clumped up blood all over the place?? Would you find it seriously easy believing such a person How abscent-minded can anyone claim to be, to sit in such a place for 20 years and not notice the blood all over the walls?? Or even that the priest has been calling on sango all this while??

This issue has absolutely nothing to do with McCain as he has his own issues to deal with. This is obama himself who created the problem for himself and the people, even many in the black community are trying to make it clear that not all black people share that mentality spewed by Wright. I even believe his going on out again to spew even more trash did so much more damage that Obama himself felt the need to outrightly deny the man. I listened to the speech or report myself and I kept shouting "SHUT UP", cause of the nonsense statements he made, trying to bunch all Africans and African Americans under the same flag. No one can deny that the come back was not directed at those who where trying to understand how Obama could have claimed this same as his spiritual head and had him as a part of his campaign team.

This problem is a problem in the African American community that needs to be dealt with. Not pushed around as white propaganda considering we have youths who are fed this nonsense every week and go out believing they have no chance since, according to their pastor, they are doomed.  We have youths who from the beginning approach the world with a defeatist mentality. They turn to crime in large numbers cause, according to some, the system is stacked up against them. The same system that has seen people like Obama and his family go from nothing to achieve much, the same system that has seen people like Sean John, Oprah, Chris Rock, Will Smith and tons of other black men and women, work to build great lives for themselves.  Please drop the whole WHITEMAN CRAP and let us focus on discussing the problem as it really is. Deal with the details instead of continually trying to push it off on the WHITEMAN while we continue to watch as generation after generation continue to stew in the same mock, thinking somehow we are freed of responsibility by pushing all our problems to the whiteman.