President Obama's Inaugural Address

[DrMckay]

Eh, didn't see the poem. I did get to see the inaguration before work. He had a good speech, and seeing the first president I was able to vote for, (and the first black president of the United States) take the oath of office was a powerful moment for me, minor hiccups or no.

[Broomstick]

Okay, let me see if I understand this: an old lion of the Civil Rights movement quotes a Civil Rights era blues song in the benediction, and this is somehow race-baiting?

Um... yes, potentially so. Being of the "civil rights era" or a "blues song" doesn't give it a pass you know.

"White will embrace the right"--that's what passes for grievously offensive nowadays?

I wouldn't say grievously offensive, let's not blow this out of proportion here, but yeah, it was dwelling on stereotypes.

And I'm far from the only one here who's mentioned the issue.

Because I'm white as the driven snow, and I didn't take the slightest offense at that part of the benediction

Well, I'm "white as the driven snow" and I did take offense.

--it was obviously a reference to the fact that institutional racism and white privilege still exist and constitute obstacles for racial minorities, and not a swipe at every white person in the world. I mean, if you want to take his words completely literally, he said "the right"--maybe he's actually praying for all white people to become Republicans.

Oh, please - everyone else is getting mellow or getting ahead or not having to give back but white people have to be instructed to do what's right? You don't see anything the least off about that? Everyone else is OK, but white folks have to change. Right, right, because all the ills of the world are the white man's fault and the rest of the rainbow would be just fine if they all just disappeared or something.

Not to mention that the original lyrics of "Black, Brown, and White" referred to a double standard where a person of mixed race was considered OK (that's the "brown") but someone "black" was still barred from admittance, from service, from jobs. Gee.... inaugaurating a person of mixed race... hmmm.....You don't think that might have been a slam at Obama for not being "black enough"?

Here, by the way, are the original lyrics from the 1951 recording:

This little song that I'm singin' about
People you know it's true
If you're black and gotta work for a living
This is what they will say to you

They says if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, stick around
But as you's black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back

I was in a place one night
They was all having fun
They was all byin' beer and wine
But they would not sell me none

They said if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, stick around
But if you black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back

Me and a man was workin' side by side
This is what it meant
They was paying him a dollar an hour
And they was paying me fifty cent

They said if you was white, 't should be all right
If you was brown, could stick around
But as you black, m-mm boy, git back git back git back

I went to an employment office
Got a number 'n' I got in line
They called everybody's number
But they never did call mine

They said if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, could stick around
But as you black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back

I hope when sweet victory
With my plough and hoe
Now I want you to tell me brother
What you gonna do about the old Jim Crow?

Now if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, could stick around
But if you black, whoa brother, git back git back git back

THAT song is not offensive, it's just describing an offensive situation. However, I found the manner in which it was woven into the benediction to be offensive. Again, it was everyone is OK but we're gonna ask God to change the white man 'cause the white man need changing! Gets back to the idea that only white people can be racist and it's impossible for "people of color" to be racially prejudiced.

Those "old lions" of the Civil Rights Movement have been harping about how Obama isn't really black or he's not black enough since he started outdoing Hilary in the polls. Sure, they got an African-American in the Oval Office but he's not their black man and they don't consider him one of them. How much do you want to bet they'll still be saying it 4 years from now, if not actually accusing him of being a traitor of some sort? Some of those "old lions" don't want equality, they want retribution.

[Ender]

I'm pretty sure that the 1951 was a rerelease, as Broonzy was more of a Swing era or Depression era performer. But I could be wrong, I favor the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bunny Berigan myself so I'm not real knowledgeable.

Anyway, a review of those lyrics notes that only 2 of the 5 lines are even tangentially represented. I find it unlikely it was an intentional reference, and much more likely it was a coincidence that he used the same words in a simple rhyme. It isn't like he was trying to use "orange" here.

[JLTucker]

Obama has retaken the oath, according to MSNBC. There's no article yet.

[RedImperator]

Okay, let me see if I understand this: an old lion of the Civil Rights movement quotes a Civil Rights era blues song in the benediction, and this is somehow race-baiting?

Um... yes, potentially so. Being of the "civil rights era" or a "blues song" doesn't give it a pass you know.

Of course it doesn't. However, this is a pretty low standard for "race baiting".

"White will embrace the right"--that's what passes for grievously offensive nowadays?

I wouldn't say grievously offensive, let's not blow this out of proportion here, but yeah, it was dwelling on stereotypes.

And I'm far from the only one here who's mentioned the issue.

I wasn't addressing you individually. I'm assuming that's what you meant and you weren't making an appeal to popularity there.

Because I'm white as the driven snow, and I didn't take the slightest offense at that part of the benediction

Well, I'm "white as the driven snow" and I did take offense.

Yes, plainly you did. However, I don't find your reasons very convincing.

--it was obviously a reference to the fact that institutional racism and white privilege still exist and constitute obstacles for racial minorities, and not a swipe at every white person in the world. I mean, if you want to take his words completely literally, he said "the right"--maybe he's actually praying for all white people to become Republicans.

Oh, please - everyone else is getting mellow or getting ahead or not having to give back but white people have to be instructed to do what's right? You don't see anything the least off about that? Everyone else is OK, but white folks have to change. Right, right, because all the ills of the world are the white man's fault and the rest of the rainbow would be just fine if they all just disappeared or something.

Or, in the context of a prayer in which Lowry asks God to "help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance" and "help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family", he was referring specifically to the problem of racism. Now, yes, I am completely aware that racial prejudice is a universal American phenomenon. Every race and ethnic group has its individuals who hate members or some or all of the other races and ethnic groups. That said, institutional racism and white privilege are problems for which white people have the lion's share of the responsibility, because President Obama withstanding, institutional power in this society is overwhelmingly concentrated in white hands. And institutional racism is a far bigger problem for most minorities than any individual racist.

Not to mention that the original lyrics of "Black, Brown, and White" referred to a double standard where a person of mixed race was considered OK (that's the "brown") but someone "black" was still barred from admittance, from service, from jobs. Gee.... inaugaurating a person of mixed race... hmmm.....You don't think that might have been a slam at Obama for not being "black enough"?

Um...no? First of all, your interpretation of the song is completely wrong. Being mixed race wasn't "OK"--the rule was "just one drop", as in "just one drop of black blood is enough to make you black". If you were mixed-race, you were black, and you "got on back" along with everyone else. The "brown" may have referred to Hispanics, or possibly all other non-whites, who, in the Jim Crow era, had it pretty shitty, but not as bad as blacks. Second, even if that was what the song meant, the idea that Lowry included it because he thinks Obama isn't black enough is completely ridiculous, given 1) it doesn't make the least bit of sense in the context of the prayer, 2) the fact that there isn't a whisper of evidence Lowry ever believed Obama isn't black enough, and 3) all the "not black enough" nonsense is completely overblown to begin with, a fact I will address momentarily.

<snip song lyrics>

THAT song is not offensive, it's just describing an offensive situation. However, I found the manner in which it was woven into the benediction to be offensive. Again, it was everyone is OK but we're gonna ask God to change the white man 'cause the white man need changing! Gets back to the idea that only white people can be racist and it's impossible for "people of color" to be racially prejudiced.

There is nothing anywhere in Lowery's remarks to indicate he believes only white people can be racist. You're reading that in there, based on a single line in a prayer which earlier called upon "us" to be more tolerant, with no distinction made between races. At any rate, individual racism isn't the problem, and Lowery is smart enough to know that. You can have systemic, institutional racism in an organization without any single individual within it actually being racist.

Those "old lions" of the Civil Rights Movement have been harping about how Obama isn't really black or he's not black enough since he started outdoing Hilary in the polls. Sure, they got an African-American in the Oval Office but he's not their black man and they don't consider him one of them. How much do you want to bet they'll still be saying it 4 years from now, if not actually accusing him of being a traitor of some sort? Some of those "old lions" don't want equality, they want retribution.

Who are these "old lions"? When did they say this? The source for the "not black enough" hoo-ha was a column in Salon by Debra Dickerson, in which she argued Obama wasn't really "black" because in America, "black" refers specifically to native-born African Americans whose ancestors were slaves, not recent African immigrants or their descendants (note that his being mixed-race is not part of the equation; she writes that some blacks worry he might deny being black because of his white mother, but not that he isn't black because he's mixed race). To my knowledge, nobody in the old guard civil rights establishment publicly agreed with Dickerson. The whole thing was a tempest in a teapot. It was probably brought up by more white reporters than actual black people.

Anyway, after all this, having reviewed the benediction and the crowd reaction, I think Lowery was riffing on the song more than anything else--the tone doesn't match the rest of the prayer, and he was obviously pleased when he got a laugh from the crowd. Doesn't mean he wasn't kidding on the square, so to speak, but I think people are getting way too worked up over a joke.

Anyway, a review of those lyrics notes that only 2 of the 5 lines are even tangentially represented. I find it unlikely it was an intentional reference, and much more likely it was a coincidence that he used the same words in a simple rhyme. It isn't like he was trying to use "orange" here.

So you think it's a coincidence that, of all the words he could have chosen that rhyme with "black", "brown", and "white", he picked "back", "around", and used the specific phrases "get back" and "stick around"? He added "yellow" and "red", probably to be inclusive, and obviously changed up the lyrics somewhat, but if he didn't actually mean to quote Big Bill Broonzy, it wasn't a coincidence, it was a fucking miracle.

[CmdrWilkens]

Obama has retaken the oath, according to MSNBC. There's no article yet.

Retarded submission to the wingnuts but meh.

[Broomstick]

Okay, let me see if I understand this: an old lion of the Civil Rights movement quotes a Civil Rights era blues song in the benediction, and this is somehow race-baiting?

Um... yes, potentially so. Being of the "civil rights era" or a "blues song" doesn't give it a pass you know.

Of course it doesn't. However, this is a pretty low standard for "race baiting".

I also mentioned something about not blowing it out of proportion or getting carried away. I found it offensive, but not HUGELY offensive.

Because I'm white as the driven snow, and I didn't take the slightest offense at that part of the benediction

Well, I'm "white as the driven snow" and I did take offense.

Yes, plainly you did. However, I don't find your reasons very convincing.

OK, we can have a different opinion, right?

That said, institutional racism and white privilege are problems for which white people have the lion's share of the responsibility, because President Obama withstanding, institutional power in this society is overwhelmingly concentrated in white hands. And institutional racism is a far bigger problem for most minorities than any individual racist.

Well, yes, I understand that - as I woman I face quite a bit of sexism which is a similar phenomena.

First of all, your interpretation of the song is completely wrong. Being mixed race wasn't "OK"--the rule was "just one drop", as in "just one drop of black blood is enough to make you black".

It wasn't just a mix of black and what that was disapproved of - there were states where any interracial crossing was illegal, be that white/black, white/Asian, black/Asian, whatever.

If you were mixed-race, you were black, and you "got on back" along with everyone else. The "brown" may have referred to Hispanics, or possibly all other non-whites, who, in the Jim Crow era, had it pretty shitty, but not as bad as blacks.

There was also a difference between the dark skinned black and the "high yellow" light skin blacks, many of whom could and did pass as white or at least as something that didn't have black in the background.

At any rate, individual racism isn't the problem, and Lowery is smart enough to know that. You can have systemic, institutional racism in an organization without any single individual within it actually being racist.

I disagree - individual racists can be quite horrible and damaging. I've encountered company owners who were racist and either refused to hire X group or, if they did, fired them for manufactured reasons shortly afterward. Refusing to hire and/or putting the black mark of "fired for cause" on someone's record unquestionably IS damaging. Individual racists help maintain institutional racism and indeed it's hard to see how institutional racism could endure long term without the individual racists.

Those "old lions" of the Civil Rights Movement have been harping about how Obama isn't really black or he's not black enough since he started outdoing Hilary in the polls. Sure, they got an African-American in the Oval Office but he's not their black man and they don't consider him one of them. How much do you want to bet they'll still be saying it 4 years from now, if not actually accusing him of being a traitor of some sort? Some of those "old lions" don't want equality, they want retribution.

Who are these "old lions"? When did they say this? The source for the "not black enough" hoo-ha was a column in Salon by Debra Dickerson, in which she argued Obama wasn't really "black" because in America, "black" refers specifically to native-born African Americans whose ancestors were slaves, not recent African immigrants or their descendants (note that his being mixed-race is not part of the equation; she writes that some blacks worry he might deny being black because of his white mother, but not that he isn't black because he's mixed race). To my knowledge, nobody in the old guard civil rights establishment publicly agreed with Dickerson. The whole thing was a tempest in a teapot. It was probably brought up by more white reporters than actual black people.

'Scuze me, I was going off the scuttlebut in the neighborhood where I live and comments made outside the local polling place, not something I never read (or even heard of) in Salon. Yes, there's the "his ancestors weren't slaves" angle but also "his mom was white and he was raised by white grandparents" (similar to the rationale for keeping black children in foster care rather than be adopted by parents who just happen to be white) and "he sounds too white".

Then there's the crap Jesse Jackson, Sr. was heard to say (and captured) about cutting Obama's balls off - well, yeah, Jackson ran for PotUS in the past but no one took him seriously and there's some jealousy issues there.

Doesn't mean he wasn't kidding on the square, so to speak, but I think people are getting way too worked up over a joke.

It is entirely possible that he meant it as a joke but people didn't take it that way. However, white people who have a slip of the lip or say a joke in bad taste get pickets and lose their jobs and are verbally dragged through the mud. He shouldn't get a pass because he's black. He may not have intended to offend but if he did perhaps he should say "I didn't intend to offend and I'm sorry if I did so" just like a white man would be called upon to do.

[Enigma]

I want to know what was in the note that Bush left on the Oval office desk for Obama to read.

[Patrick Degan]

I want to know what was in the note that Bush left on the Oval office desk for Obama to read.

"It was all Dick's fault."

[apocolypse]

That said, institutional racism and white privilege are problems for which white people have the lion's share of the responsibility, because President Obama withstanding, institutional power in this society is overwhelmingly concentrated in white hands.

I personally also took offense (as mentioned earlier, but like Broomstick wasn't overly bent out of shape about it) and what you posted is part of the reason why. Do I necessarily disagree with what you've just stated? No, not at all. However, there are a fair number (I have no idea if there is even an accurate number to be found) of white people that are not necessarily racist, and have no control over the color of their own skin and others actions due to it. Yet all white people, wrt the statement made, get lumped together as some sort of universal mindset. We wouldn't accept a logical argument with this premise, what is different here?

Essentially, imo he segregated a whole bunch of different skin colors and said "several of you are okay, but one of you needs some work". I find the comment to be rather divisive on a day that many of us, regardless of skin color, were trying to celebrate. No one here should be made accountable for the actions of others for reasons outside their control. I don't know much about you personally, but I wouldn't presume that you speak for every member of the various classes you belong to.

[Executor32]

Technically it wasn't Lincoln's Bible, but it is the Bible Lincoln was sworn in on in 1865 because the family book was delayed in arrival. History, naturally, remembers it as the Lincoln Bible.

IIRC it belonged to Chief Justice Taney, the author of the Plessy v. Ferguson case, which gives the book a great coating of irony.

I would have been very hard for Taney to author Plessy v. Ferguson, as he died 28 years before Plessy even boarded the railroad car. He was the source of the court's opinion in the Dred Scott case, though.

[SAMAS]

Obama has retaken the oath, according to MSNBC. There's no article yet.

Retarded submission to the wingnuts but meh.

I think it's more of a: "Oh, no. There will be none of that BS going around here!"

[Coyote]

For clarification, the poem closing prayer/Benediction was delivered by Rev. Joseph Lowry, who had two different rhyming portions. One was "God of our weary years, God of our silent tears", which was part of a 1960's civil rights song called "Lift Every Voice and Sing":

Found here

For those of you who don't know, Rev. Lowery began his benediction with the last verse of the Negro National Anthem, specifically "God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land."

The whole song:

Lift every voice and sing,
'Til earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on 'til victory is won.


Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast'ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
'Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.


God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

He also had this rhyming portion (from the same blog):

In harmony with Rev. Lowery, I respectfully ask and hope that the day comes "when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right."

That was NOT part of a old march (AFAIK) or song, it was just something he put in there. It is somewhat annoying, because a huge number of white people voted for Obama (indeed, we are not yet at the point where anyone could get elected without white votes)-- and, of course, without Obama up there in the first place, he'd not be there delivering these words.

[ray245]

BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Thursday defended the censorship on state television and domestic websites of inauguration speech references by U.S. President Barack Obama to communism and dissent, saying it was an editorial right.

Chinese state television abruptly turned away from the broadcast once communism was mentioned, and many websites deleted all mention of it.

"I don't understand the situation you've raised. I think Chinese media, like media present here, have their own editorial rights," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news briefing.

Communist China, which has shut more than 200 websites in recent days for "vulgar" content, is seen by many to be trying to stifle dissent in a year of sensitive anniversaries, including the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

"Recall that earlier generations faced down communism and fascism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions," Obama said in his 18-minute inauguration address on Tuesday.

He later added:

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."

Jiang declined to comment on Obama's speech reference to human rights, saying his remarks were not directed at any one country, and defended China's own record instead.

"China's government always respects and protects human rights," she said. "But as we are still in the primary stage of socialism, there are a lot of things that have to be improved."

(Reporting by Chris Buckley and Yu Le; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090122/wl_ ... censorship

[Teebs]

Retarded submission to the wingnuts but meh.

IIRC the BBC said that other presidents that flubbed the oath in the past had also retaken the oath in private.

[Coyote]

Okay, let me see if I understand this: an old lion of the Civil Rights movement quotes a Civil Rights era blues song in the benediction, and this is somehow race-baiting?

Um... yes, potentially so. Being of the "civil rights era" or a "blues song" doesn't give it a pass you know.

Of course it doesn't. However, this is a pretty low standard for "race baiting".

Well, think of it this way-- he basically said "someday, all you white folks out there will learn to become decent human beings".

What if a white presidential candidtae was being sworn in, and he hand-picked a white preacher to come up and give a prayer, and that white preacher said "someday, all you black people out there will get jobs and stay out of prison".

[Coyote]

I want to know what was in the note that Bush left on the Oval office desk for Obama to read.

"How does 'My Pet Goat' end?"

[Siege]

Frankly what Lowery said struck me more as an expression of hope that the moment of equality between all skin colors was close at hand, than as some sort of race-baiting. Of course I'm not from the USA so I may be missing some cultural sensitivity thing here, but I kind of doubt it was the reverend's intention to divide on the eve of the Obama inauguration.

[Coyote]

Frankly what Lowery said struck me more as an expression of hope that the moment of equality between all skin colors was close at hand, than as some sort of race-baiting. Of course I'm not from the USA so I may be missing some cultural sensitivity thing here, but I kind of doubt it was the reverend's intention to divide on the eve of the Obama inauguration.

I agree in that I doubt he was trying to intentionally divide or insult; it's just that he kinda did without thinking. Part of the problem with prejudice in general is the things done out of ignorance, after all.

[VT-16]

I thought it was a funny, silly little poem, wasn't aware that I as a white person should have been offended in some way.

[TithonusSyndrome]

If anyone was going to find a reason to be offended at the benediction, they could do better than suggesting implied racism. I thought it was frustratingly juvenile and base for such an august event, and even then I wasn't offended, merely baffled and disappointed.

[Hawkwings]

Personally, I cringed when I heard that part of the benediction. Not because of what he said, but the fact that he had to bring such distinct race mentioning into his speech.

[apocolypse]

I thought it was a funny, silly little poem, wasn't aware that I as a white person should have been offended in some way.

I wasn't aware that anyone stated you had to be offended by it. Not everyone was. That's not the point.

[Noble Ire]

Personally, I cringed when I heard that part of the benediction. Not because of what he said, but the fact that he had to bring such distinct race mentioning into his speech.

To be quite honest, I didn't have any problem with the benediction. As sensitive a subject as it is, racial division is still a significant problem in the United States, and I don't see why one should refrain from mentioning it, even on such a momentous occasion. The issue could, perhaps, have been treated more carefully, but I'd rather see a tactless sign that the new administration is willing to acknowledge racial issues than evidence that its going to turn a blind eye to them. Besides, a modicum of humor is rarely detrimental to any situation, even ones of extreme import.

It should be noted that I'm speaking as a white man, and can't speak for any other part of the benediction that some might have found offensive. The "white" bit didn't bother me, and I think calling it "race-baiting" implies malice or ignorance on the orator's part unjustly.

[FSTargetDrone]

I cringed when Aretha Franklin sung. That was not exactly pleasing to my ear. I realize they probably needed someone with a powerful voice, but it was a bit... much. The quartet's performance was much easier on the ear (actually, it was a live performance augmented by a recording, as it was too cold for the instruments to stay in tune).