Your Black World: Black Men and Boyism: From Politics to Sports

Black Men and Boyism: From Politics to Sports

By: Tolu Olorunda

Staff Writer – YourBlackWorld.com

“These weekly insults to Black manhood that we have been programmed to believe are entertainment and not direct racist warfare, further reinforce, perhaps in the unconscious thinking of Black people, a loss of respect for Black manhood while carrying that loss to ever deeper levels.”

- Dr. Frances Cress Welsing in “The Isis Papers.”

Sen. Obama’s astronomical rise to political stardom has been fascinating for any number of reasons, but most especially, helpful in decoding the underlying racist perceptions of Obama, held by neo-liberal, otherwise known as, “well-intentioned” Whites. Renowned poet and activist, Amiri Baraka, once described this group as “little liberals who think Obama is just some trendy new-flavor.” These “little liberals,” are no doubt, fully responsible for the overt commodification of Obama by big-business enterprises. More saddening, however, is the reality that Sen. Obama, a Black man, is increasingly being perceived by this specific class of White liberals, as more a boy than a man.

Barack Obama is treated – by these White liberals – as a pet-project who can only function within the confines of an accepted model. The emergence of Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright on the national stage, earlier this year, fully confirmed my suspicion. A broad swath of Sen. Obama’s allied White-base were aghast and appalled by the revelation that a man as militant-minded and pro-Black as Dr. Wright, had, once upon a time, had a profound impact on Obama’s life. Most of his White supporters had invested in the mythology of Obama as the “one Black friend,” who could be tolerated as long as he/she functioned in a non-threatening manner. NPR host, Farai Chideya, echoed this sentiment in an appearance on CNN, earlier in the presidential race. Speaking of the sense of betrayal many White neo-liberals felt after learning of Obama’s past-associations with Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Ms. Chideya noted how “Christopher John Farley of "TIME" magazine once wrote an essay about the magical African-American friend, which is the idea in movies often, that there's this nice black man who's my black friend, and he's not like other black people. He's so nice. And I think that some people, some supporters have put Senator Obama in the magical African-American friend box. And therefore, for them there's a double high standard, which is not only that he has to be squeaky clean as it relates to other politicians, but he has to be sort of this super-nice person.”

Barack Obama’s charisma is often mistaken, by many White liberals, as an opportunity to diminish his manhood. Bill Clinton ran the first leg of this prestigious relay race with his initial comment that Sen. Obama’s candidacy was nothing but a “fairy tale.” President Jimmy Carter, widely hailed as a newly-branded Humanist and activist, grabbed the baton and fell into this entrapment in a self-revealing appearance on PBS, during the Democratic National Convention. President Carted suggested that Sen. Obama’s acceptance as Democratic Presidential Nominee was not only emblematic of significant racial-progress, but it had “sent a wave of approbation and admiration in many countries around the world, just knowing that this black boy who grew up with just a loving mother and grandparents -- and that was about all he had to start with -- does now have a chance to become the nominee of the Democratic Party for president.” One wonders if President Carter would call Barack Obama a “boy,” if he happened to be non-black. Jimmy Carter is not alone, as Television Host and Comedian, Bill Maher – running the third leg –, has also expressed similar sentiments regarding Sen. Obama. In an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, whose obsession with Black Women boggles the mind, argued against Obama’s eloquence, stating that “Our boy needs to be a little more forceful…Don’t you think he needs to jab a little bit? He seems a little too professorial.” John McCain – anchor leg – wasted no time in confirming his disregard for Obama as, “that one.” Late last week, CNN host, Campbell Brown, attempted to make a case against the accusations that Sen. McCain hurled a racially-inflamed insult at Obama by characterizing the Democratic nominee as, “that one.” Speaking in defense of McCain, the fairly-liberal pundit stated: “Some people have interpreted that comment, 'THAT ONE' as having racial undertones. Give me a break. I can hear my grandfather talking about one of his kids or grandkids as "that one." He used it a lot. Maybe it's a generational thing. Maybe it wasn't a term of endearment the way it was when my grandfather used it. Maybe McCain did mean to be disrespectful. But racist? I don't think so.” Following Ms. Brown’s logic, Barack Obama would have to be a grandchild for McCain to successfully call him “that one,” and be devoid of any racist or vituperative intent. Thanks for buttressing my point, Campbell.

In sports, the infantilizing of Black Men appears to be more overt. Last week, Dallas Cowboys cornerback, Adam “Pacman” Jones, was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating NFL “personal conduct policy.” NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, took great pride in publicly remonstrating against Jones. In a letter published for the world to see, Goodell passionately wrote that, “It's terribly disappointing to me that we're dealing with this again and that he's reflecting so poorly on all of the players in this league, which they don't deserve.” In a demeanor comparable to a parent reprimanding a child, Goodell furthermore explained to Adam Jones that he had temporarily terminated his contract because of a noticeable “disturbing pattern of behavior,” which was “clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for your continued participation in the NFL.” Whether Mr. Jones indeed violated league policy remains irrelevant at this point. More disturbing is the fact that Roger Goodell, and the higher officials in the NFL, would seek to make an example out of Jones in favor of waging the “weekly insults to Black manhood,” of which Dr. Welsing spoke.

From politics to sports, the “game” remains the same. If Sen. Obama is lucky enough to convince the requisite amount of Whites to vote for him, what would the end result of his presidency amount to? That of a Black man, or a Black boy?