Posted on 07/21/2014 11:48:38 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The notion that black men need to act, dress or speak in a certain way to be “authentic” is something that "has to go," President Obama said Monday at an event promoting his initiative to aid young men of color.
"The notion that there’s some authentic way of being black, that if you’re going to be black you have to act a certain way and wear a certain kind of clothes, … that has to go, because there are a whole bunch of different ways for African-American men to be authentic," Obama said.
"You don’t have to act a certain way to be authentic," Obama added. "You just have to be who you are and to go back to the values that you care about. Are you kind? Are you responsible? Do you work hard?"
The president also said that black men could be taunted for reading too much or speaking properly. He pointed to the first lady, noting his wife had grown up on the South Side of Chicago in "a neighborhood where gunshots go off."
"It can be rough where Michelle grew up, but she’ll talk proper when she needs to," Obama said. "You also don’t want to get on her wrong side because she can translate that into a different vernacular."
The president added that unfortunately black men were sometimes only presented NBA players and rappers as role models, and that he hoped his initiative could show them how they could succeed in careers like graphic design, engineering or the law.
"Part of the goal of My Brother’s Keeper is to expose you to more things so that you don’t think that the only thing you can be passionate about is what you’re seeing on TV," Obama said.
And the president said it was important to both know one's own culture and "be a part of this larger world."
"There’s some cultures, frankly, who have done this better than others," Obama said, pointing to Jewish Americans and Asian Americans who had retained a sense of their histories but also demonstrated academic accomplishments.
"I think this is something that we have to spend some time thinking about, making sure that, we understand there’s a way of knowing your history, knowing your culture, being proud of it, using it as a strength but not thinking that there is just one way of you then having to act," Obama said.
The president made the remarks during a town hall discussion to promote his "My Brother's Keeper" initiative, which is designed to provide a boost to young men of color through mentoring programs and academic aid.
On Monday, Obama announced that the NBA, in coordination with its players association, will launch a five-year effort designed to connect 25,000 mentors with young men of color. The league will work with at-risk students to improve attendance and performance at schools, and current and former players will participate in after school workshops designed to help vulnerable children. NBA Players Association President and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul joined Obama at the event.
Separately, AT&T announced that it would pledge $18 million this year to support mentoring programs. And the Emerson Collective, a nonprofit organization founded by the widow of Steve Jobs, has committed $50 million for a competition to find and develop the designs for next-generation high schools.
"I always say that I see myself in the young men who are coming up now," Obama said. "When I was in my teens, I didn’t have a father in the house. I took me a while to realize that I was angry about that.”
The president said he grew up in "a pretty forgiving environment," unlike some young men today.
"Some of the costs of making mistakes, they weren’t deadly," Obama said. "I wasn’t going to end up shot. I wasn’t going to end up in jail."
I’m a typical white person. And I submit I know more about African American males than does Obammaie. What would HE know?
His mother was white. His white grandparents raised him. In a condo in Hawaii. Except for a few years when he lived as a muslim boy in Indonesia. In short - Obammie has never lived the typical African American experience.
Totally concur.
Can an Elected Politician Democrat Black Man act like an authentic American, or will the Democrat Party always come before Country?
Wasn't his 'nanny' a 'male' ?
...as long as you vote reliably Democrat. Black Republicans may be called any name you like.
‘The notion that black men need to act, dress or speak in a certain way to be “authentic” is something that “has to go,” President Obama said Monday at an event promoting his initiative to aid young men of color.’
Thats a lie. As far as liberals are concerned you cant be black and conservative. Staying on the liberal plantation is the only way to be ‘authentic’.
And this is why, and absolutely no racism is intended, that most black leaders are not ready to lead this nation and the population as an entirety.. They do not have the ability to move beyond the color of their own skin. Sadly, they hold contempt for not only the whites but more importantly the country itself. Their decision making is hampered by partiality for their race and a need to get even.
The very idea that one’s role models ought to share one’s race is, and ought to be, repulsive.
Justice Clarence Thomas, Colonel Allen West, Herman Cain, Dr. Thomas Sowell, and Walter Williams would probably have been available for comment had they been invited.
Did he mention that you don’t have to vote Democrat?
He, however, can/does not.
That is a very funny movie.
Can a black man be a conservative and still be authentic Mr. President? Care to address that?
Can't say I disagree. The sad part is that it really does need to be said in our present society. One thing that has to be done in this country is break the paradigm that blacks have to stay on the plantation. The surprising part is that Obama actually said that.
Sure there is. Go back to the areas in which your tribe lived. The capture members of neighboring tribes and sell them into slavery.
Interesting that he admits other ethnic cultures have been able to make it in America (Asian, Jewish). Sadly, this will be just another money pit where grants will be made to cronies for phony programs where no positive results for the target population will ever need to be demonstrated.
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