Author and Professor Julius Lester expressed his sentiments regarding what white people know and what black people do not know in his November 28, 2008 blog entry entitled, Why Black American’s are Indebted to White Americans. He said that “one of the real ironies of Barack Obama's election to the presidency is that it was white Americans who recognized and believed in this possibility long before blacks”. I will agree with Lester to an extent. Two years ago, even one year ago, I did not think that a black man would be president right now. But to say that black American’s are indebted to whites is a bit extreme. The term indebted implies that blacks owe white people something and we do not owe them a thing. If anything, they owe us..right?? ((sidenote: this Nas song keeps playing over and over in my head...I put the shackles on your feet (You owe me)I think you owe me some (You owe me)The shackles on your feet (You owe Nas)I think you owe me some (You owe Ginuwine)(You owe Timbaland, you owe me) Eff that sh*T!!, can I gets mines?!?!))
Anyways, I thought that an age-old historian like Lester would be on the same page as me. I was also confused by that entry because a few months earlier he was saying that black people knew all along that they were capable of holding the executive office of this country and that it was white people who had to be convinced. “In reality, the ‘first black syndrome’ is an enormous achievement for white people. Since 1619 black people have known that we could do anything white people could do. It has taken white people almost 300 hundred years to figure that out.” (From his June 5, 2008 entry, peep it out). For four-hundred years white people have played the ‘savior’ role to black people. White people have made it seem as though without them we would be in Africa right now, playing with dirt, (not that there is anything wrong with that but you know what i'm tryna say), and so for Lester to say that we are indebted to them for Obama’s presidency upsets me. We appreciate everyone who voted blue because even if all the black people in America came out and voted for Obama and no white people supported his ticket, he would not have won the contest. Thanks yall!!! (but we still don't owe you jack).
