Word: civilizations
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...They have been called “post-racial” or “post-civil rights” leaders, and have had to contend with the charge that they are “not black enough.” They are mostly Ivy League-educated law school graduates, under the age of 50. They preach a message of optimism and unity. This new generation of young black mayors, governors, congressmen, and senators includes 2006 senatorial candidate Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee, Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick...
...Until now, the undisputed leader of the black political community has been the “civil-rights era urban crusader.” From former presidential candidates Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to veteran congressmen John Conyers (D-Mich.), Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and SNCC Founder John Lewis (D-Ga.), there is a proud tradition of civil-rights era politicians emerging from majority-black areas to positions of great power. For them, being black is what defines their identity, and—more importantly—their politics...
...case of Obama, this distinction is further complicated by his background as half-Kenyan and half-white. As Lee pointed out, “he is not the inheritor of slavery, Jim Crow, and civil rights struggles,” and thus, for certain black voters, “there is an ‘easy for you to say’ attitude” toward Obama’s belief in national reconciliation...
...Sharpton has said, “The thing that gets me is that when you get some black leaders who are not civil-rights leaders, whether it is Barack Obama or Colin Powell or Tiger Woods, people act like they did that all by themselves, that they opened the door for themselves...
...recent tragic events in Jena, Louisiana have demonstrated the touchy dynamics that post-civil rights black leaders must contend with. Obama seemed to shy away from bold statements of racism concerning the Jena Six, saying it “isn’t a matter of black and white, it’s a matter of right and wrong.” Instead, he attempted to make it a national issue, and not just a black one: “It is not just an offense to the people of Jena or to the African-American community...