Will I Get My Forty Acres And A Mule?

At one time in my life I voted for Jesse Jackson strictly
because he was a black man and it was one brother helping
another. It was the right thing to do or so I thought at the
time. Now many years later and many years older again I'm
faced with this decision. Would I vote for Obama because he's
my black brother? The answer at this time is No! The reason
is I am just not familar enough with the man's politics and
actions. I know he talks a good game but what successful
politician doesn't? Besides I live in Los Angeles Obama is from
Chicago. You check out the article then feed me some input.



Illinois state Sen. Rickey Hendon served eight years alongside Barack Obama in the state Capitol and plans to endorse him today when Obama launches a bid for the White House. But that does not mean Hendon has set aside the long-simmering doubts that he and other black leaders hold about a man who could become the first African American to occupy the Oval Office."I can endorse someone now and change my mind next week," Democrat Hendon said from Springfield, Ill., where U.S. Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) will kick off his campaign at the old state Capitol.
"I'm going to look at how he runs his campaign. I'm going to look closely to see if he raises the issues that are important to my people."

For many black activists in Obama's adopted home state, who might be expected to form the core of his political base, a central question still looms about the man who has risen speedily over 11 years from state lawmaker to U.S. senator to a sensation in the 2008 presidential campaign: As he works to appeal to voters across the nation, will Obama stand firm for black people and black causes? Some of the questions arise from Obama's upbringing in Hawaii, remote from the urban struggles of Chicago's black neighborhoods, and from his heritage as the son of a white American mother and black Kenyan father.

Obama is like a "plaid quilt" in which people of different races see themselves, said Eddie Read, chairman of the Black Independent Political Organization. He fears this may leave Obama insufficiently committed to fighting for the black community."He would not be the black president. He would be the multicultural president," said Read. "A black president would fight for black economic and political power."Obama's appeal to white voters leaves some black activists questioning the depth of his links to the black community, said Conrad Worrill, director of inner-city studies at Northeastern Illinois University.

"When white folks begin to put their arms around a black person, there's always suspicion," he said. "The question is: Will this generation of new, college-trained beneficiaries of the black political power movement in America fight for black political interests?"The debate over how to regard Obama was on display in Washington last week, on the sidelines of Democratic National Committee's winter conference. One of Obama's closest black supporters called a meeting of African American activists to encourage support for him.




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