Who's Race Baiting?

Crossposted on Daily Kos

By Faith Chatham - August 14, 2008


Why just "black" churches.... why not churches?
Why pit a white church leader against a black church leader?
How unifiying is this?

Yes, the clips are taken out of context but they reflect attitudes.
Why don't we see photos of the Obama children with their white grandmother?
She reared Barack and paid his private school tuition but seem to be far back in the closet during his campaign for president.

Does the "multicultural" candidate aviod photos with his white relatives because he playing more to the African American voters?

Far down in the comments on this journal someone posted a link to Obama's Scrapbook. It has many photos of him with his mom and grandparents. It is a wonderful scrapbook. I'm glad that it was shared with us.Obama's Scrapbook

I have personally witnessed more racist, intimidation, harassing actions during this election cycle than I have witnessed in decades. I know that when we were Jesse Jackson delegates, the candidate instructed delegates how to conduct ourselves. Being respectful was stressed and it came from the top down.

This year every African American Hillary Clinton supporter I know has told me about being called "Uncle Tom" or other names by Obama supporters. The number of threats and insults hurled at African Americans who were not Obama supporters is appalling. Obviously the message to be respectful did not go from the top to the bottom of a very effective top down campaign.

One of my friends, a petite, non aggressive, very genteel African American business woman, has been assaulted by black and white Obama supporters because she was seen wearing a campaign button of another candidate. She was threatened by a black preacher and was followed through a department store by four thuggish young men calling her "b" and "W" and other insults because of her political button. The security guard escorted her out to her car for her protection.

A few weeks ago while I was on the phone with her, she was in the check out lane of another store when two white Obama supporters saw the American flags on her fingernails. The women liked them and were complimenting them until they saw the "non Obama" candidates' name on the other nail. One woman hauled off and socked my friend really hard. My friend told me that she rolled up her fist and "I socked her right back as hard as I could."

The elephant in the living room which no one wants to acknowledge is the failure of Senator Obama to set a tone in this campaign which is respectful and inclusive for all Americans, no matter which candidate they support and to demand that his supporters treat other candidates' supporters respectfully.

Voter intimidation and harassment is unacceptable no matter which candidate it benefits. We've worked very hard and paid a high price to move beyond where we were. This race, which should uplift us all, in my opinion, feeds racial discord and discrimination more than it unites us. The candidate needs to do more.

This year was the first time I've ever seen a Democratic Convention surrogate for a candidate be booed because they appeared for the candidate. At both the Sen. 10 and Sen. 9 Conventions in Tarrant County Obama delegates booed the speaker who spoke for Senator Clinton. He said nothing critical of Senator Obama. However, the attitude as far back as the Senatorial Conventions was that no other candidate should be given voice. This is what feeds the low poll numbers for the candidate now. People who are treated disrespectfully and unfairly do not run to embrace those who disrespect and treat them unfairly.


Another account:
A notarized affidavit of a challenge filed from a registered Democratic voter in Precinct 225 in Denton County, Texas states:

The caucus for precinct 225, Senate District 9 was grossly unorganized and very time consuming. We were forced to stand outside in the dark and cold for 3.5 hours. Obama supporters for precinct 225 had gathered before the primary voting had been completed and segregated themselves away from anyone who was not supporting their candidate. I was told by an African American man holding the sign up for precinct 225 that I could not stand with the group because I was not supporting Obama. These people used intimidation and segregation as a method of showing the “non-Obama” supporters that we were not wanted.

I did not know where else to go; I thought the process was for everyone from precinct 225, no matter their preference for presidential nominee. I walked through the crowd and met Hillary supporters who were going home because they had been told it (the precinct convention) was over by the Obama group leaders. The Hillary supporters also told me that they were very uncomfortable and concerned for their safety if they stayed.

The police were called to control the crowd because people were yelling that “the white man was trying to make their vote not count” and banging on the windows of the church where the primary was being held. I was verbally abused by two black women, on separate occasions for tying to oversee the voting process. Again they were yelling at the top of their voices and swinging their arms in the air , that I (because I am white) would not keep them from voting and choosing a black man for president.

I was the secretary for the caucus and I was told by a black man (who refused to identify himself) and who was the leader for the Obama supporters of precinct 225 that I was slowing the process down, when I tried to verify voter qualifications. I saw Obama supporters sign the sheet more than once per person. I was pushed and yelled at, but did not try to force the issue for my own safety. I reminded these people that we were neighbors and on the same side as Democrats, but I was quickly told that we had nothing in common, because I was “a white girl.”

The Denton County Democratic voter continued:

I believe that precinct 225 had invalid signatures and is not truly reflective of my community’s wishes for the next presidential candidate. Almost all of the supporters for Hillary had been forced to leave before the actual signing of the sheets, and this is unfortunate and distorts the truth of the totals attending and is not the true democratic process. The Hillary supporters that refused to let overbearing and confrontational behavior scare them away and actually stayed, were physically pushed out of the way, and out of the line at the signing table. Bullying and thuggery behavior by Obama supporters was rampant and organized. Organized specifically to keep Hillary supporters, black or white, from participating in the democratic process.