Urban Thought Collective

So we are nearing the end of President Obama’s first 100 days. Now is a good time to address a question that has been circulating in the blogosphere is it anti-Black to criticize President Obama?

This was a subject of a recent Washington Post Article entitled “Blacks at Odds Over Scrutiny of President“. The article goes on to state that there is a division deepening among two groups of African Americans: those who want to continue to praise President Obama for his historic election and those who want to critically examine President Obama now that the election is over. While I do think that this article is overly simplistic and classifies blacks in two categories: the yes category and no category, when this issue is more nuanced and complicated, I do applaud the Washington Post for raising the issue.

So here’s the question: “Is It Okay for People of Color to Criticize President Obama”? My answer is emphatically Yes.

I am just as happy at the election of President Obama as the next person, but I will be the first person to say: “what sense does a no-Obama criticizing policy make?” As long as your criticism of President Obama is not personal and does not extend to his wife and children, how can you not criticize President Obama? He is the leader of the free world. Sometime during the next four (or eight years) I am going to disagree with an act or policy decision of President Obama, and if I disagree then I am going to say I disagree and this is not anti-Black. African-Americans did not work to elect President Obama in order to have a Messiah-like figure to lead America to some theoretical promised land. We elected President Obama because we believed in his ideas and his vision to make America a better place. Again, President Obama is not the messiah. If someone disagrees with the administration’s economic stimulus package or the automobile bailout they should speak out against that policy. If you are African-American, disagreeing or being critical of a decision made by President Obama or his administration is not anti-Black. If African-Americans are going to be silent for the next 4 years, savor the fact that we have a black president and not criticize or scrutinize any actions of the Obama administration because he’s “one of us,” then we are missing a huge opportunity and turning ourselves into the “Amen Corner.”

The term Amen Corner, in addition to being the title of a play by James Baldwin, and a description of certain holes at the Masters golf tournament, is a reference to the church. It is the group that no matter what the minister says they merely nod and say “amen.” They do not take the minister to task for any statement, comment or sermon because “you don’t criticize the minister.” Well that doesn’t work in the church and it definitely does not work with government.

African-Americans as a group have traditionally had a reluctance to criticize our leaders—spiritual leaders, elected leaders and political leaders—just because they are African-American. This sentiment is what is fueling some of the discussion about whether we should criticize President Obama. And by criticize I mean disagree with decisions and policy determinations that President Obama and his administration have made. There is never any reason to engage in negativity directed at President Obama, his wife or family personally. But you can criticize someone’s actions and viewpoints without criticizing them as a person. We can celebrate the historical barriers that President Obama has broken and still disagree with a decision that he or his administration has made. If you criticize or disagree you are not a “Hater,” you are not an “Uncle Tom” and you are not “tryin to bring a brother down.” Trust me, President Obama can take it!

African-Americans cannot spend the next four years saying “yes we did.” And we cannot be active participants in governing change if we refuse to discuss and perhaps disagree with the administration just because it is run by a Black man. This silence will keep our voices from being heard and our perspectives will be left out of the discussion. We would criticize the administration if it were not run by someone who is African-American, so why should there be a double standard just because it is?

This is un-chartered territory but there is a way to criticize President Obama while still celebrating his historic election. If President Obama is “one of us” then there is nothing wrong with self-scrutiny. There is nothing wrong with substantive and constructive criticism as long as it is meaningful. Respectful debate and disagreement is not only necessary but it is imperative to move the country forward. We need more of it, not less. The Amen Corner really only belongs in church and I’m not sure if it even belongs there.

Angelia Dickens is an attorney and author with lots of thoughts and opinions, and now a place to share them (other than with her friends and family). Her blog is a compilation of her musings and commentary on charitable giving, volunteerism and philanthropy from an African-American perspective. Her writings have appeared in the Nonprofit Times and the Root.com. She can be reached at speakyourvoice@gmail.com. Read, comment and circulate.