Afro-Netizen

Day 4, Entry 2 -- How Does It Feel?

"How does it feel?"

This is the question I asked Barack Obama in 2004 shortly after his historic speech at the Democratic Convention in Boston as he entered a massive party in his honor after that momentous day of conventioneering.

"It's good," he said quietly.

Basking in the euphoric aftermath of his speech tonight as America's first Black presidential nominee, that's about all I can muster right about now.

It's good.

Then State Senator Obama followed his short reply with "How are your folks doing?"

Well, tonight, I know my mother's overjoyed, who -- along with my late father -- was an early supporter of pre-iconic Obama who represented the senatorial district where my brother Maurice and I grew up in Hyde Park on the near south side of Chicago.

My brother and I come from mixed parentage: our mother's from Baltimore, Maryland, and our father was from Louisville, Kentucky. Separated by 13 years, my parents, who were born into Jim Crow America, were brought together by an abiding love, deep friendship and family cultures that valued public service, education, and an unwavering commitment to racial justice.

My father lived to see State Senator Obama become U.S. Senator Obama. But having died of lung cancer in 2005, he predeceased Senator Obama's ascendancy to presidential nominee -- something I know he would have regaled this feat in his own quiet way. After all, my mother would often opine that her husband always saw himself as that Colored boy from Depression Era-Kentucky.

As the applause crescendoed and the floor vibrated from the stomping feet of tens of thousands of people who stood in 3-mile-long lines to witness history tonight, my usual cynism dissipated to embrace the moment -- a moment I did not truly believe I would see in my lifetime.

It is true, I did remark about an Obama presidency shortly after his 2004 convention speech, but I can honestly say that in my heart of hearts I didn't think it was truly possible that he could be elected president or win the Democratic nomination. I was wrong. So very wrong.

I suspect by the time the wheels hit the tarmac in Philadelphia, my cynism will return about what this country's electorate will unfold for this country in November. But in this moment -- in the solitude of an emptied suite overlooking workers breaking down the chairs and stage and such on Invesco Field, I am content. I am proud. I am emboldened -- not just by the inspiring words of Barack Obama, but by the collective battles fought by pioneers such as Shirley Chisolm and Jesse Jackson, Sr. -- and lesser know souls like Jewel Miller Rabb, Maurice F. Rabb, Sr., Madeline Wheeler Murphy and William H. Murphy, Sr., my late grandparents who were not alive to see the fruits of their labors in this regard, but nevertheless died knowing that they set the stage for ever-expanding opportunity for their descendants and all Americans regardless of color or creed.

Tonight my thoughts are with my ancestors without whom I would not be in Denver and experiencing this moment with the privileges with which I have been so richly blessed.

And it feels good.

Day 4, Entry 1 -- I remember Emmett Till

53 years ago, a 14-year old boy from Chicago, Emmett Till, was tortured, mutilated, murdered and his body desecrated by agents of evil in Money, Mississippi, simply because he was Black and thought to have whistled at a White woman.

Tonight, a Black man -- the son of a White woman himself -- will address the world as our country's first Black presidential nominee on a day that is also the 45th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "Broken Promise" speech.

A fellow cynic once reminded me that in order to believe in the American Dream you had to be asleep. Whether or not you agree with that sentiment, the reality is that the movement that gave birth to the icon we revere as Rev. King is the same movement that made it possible for America to experience this day and embrace a man who is not post-racial, not color-blind, not revolutionary -- but a voice for change that America has come to allow itself to hear.

Will America listen? I don't know. I do know, however, that what we choose to do between now and November 4th individually and collectively will determine the answer to this question.

Brother Emmett, you have not died in vain. This election will not aver this fact in and of itself, but it may be one of several pivotal events our nation so desperately needs to ignite a broad social justice movement that transcends election cycles and honors the promise our founding fathers made to us and freedom-fighters for generations before Rev. King (and after) sought to make real for themselves and all Americans.

Day 4, Entry 3 -- In the thick of it at Invesco Field

Afro-Netizen is not on the DNCC's official list of credentialed blogs presently, despite the fact that as I type this post with my blazing hot MacBook burning my lap, I am sitting amidst 32 other credentialed bloggers feverishly snarking away from the air conditioned skybox of Invesco Field high above the delegates and other Democratic riff-raff with my yellow Blogger Access credential stapled to my chest.

So while Afro-Netizen may be invisible to the DNC, I appreciate the fact that the Obama campaign took care of me when my own party chose to ignore me despite the fact that I was the only credentialed blogger at the 2004 Democratic Convention whose target audience was African Americans. (Thanks, Mike!)

Because of the shortage of space here, a seat lottery will begin at 7pmMT to determine who will stay and who will go. And for the folks who are asked to leave, they (me?) will be roaming the halls unable to access the stadium floor. Ughhh.

Signing off for the moment to listen to some Al Gore 2.0.

Day 3, Entry 3 -- "The Comeback Kid" Brings It Home

Part 1 of 3

Part 2 of 3

Part 3 of 3

Day 3, Entry 2 -- Masculinity, Gender Identity and the promise of an Obama Presidency

While wandering quasi-aimlessly through the jam-packed Pepsi Center with afro-feminista and fellow Netroots activist, Shireen Mitchell of Digital Sistas, we bumped into two colleagues of hers from BlogHer.

They said they were walking around interviewing folks, and I decided to speak up and request that I add my perspective to the mix. I have several progressive colleagues who are active members of the BlogHer community including blogdiva Liza Sabater and comrade and journalism professor Kim Pearson, among many others.

In the following video clip, I sought to express my thoughts on the implications of Obama's candidacy and potential ascendancy to the White House on modern American masculinity and gender identity for men -- particularly those of us who define ourselves as progressives.

I felt compelled to speak for three reasons. First, the night before I left for Denver last Monday, I had a wonderful conversation with friend and colleague Rob Okun, publisher of VoiceMale Magazine and the former executive director of the Men's Resource Center for Change who encouraged me to think about how Obama's presence and footprints during this long campaign may have incrementally moved men and boys to see masculinity in a broader, more nuanced light.

Another reason that led me to speak up and speak out is that just as public discourse around racial justice must not be ceded to people of color alone, the same is true for gender equity to women. Men have an important role in speaking truth to (our own) power and allying with women toward this end. It is not a leading role, but a necessary one that few of us do -- or do boldly or consistently enough (myself included). So, I thought I should lead by example and acknowledge the unearned privilege from which I benefit as a man for the benefit of expanding good faith dialogue on issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, and how we choose to define modern masculinity.

The final reason is simply that I saw in the Pepsi Center hallway (not far from the actor who plays "Bunk" from The Wire") none other than Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier. I immediately thought of my young sons for whom we have oftened played his moving song, "It's Alright to Cry" from Marlo Thomas' classic album and TV show, "Free to Be You & Me".

A 300-pound, former NFL star who needle-points and sings about emoting got my vote back in the 70's and now thirty-odd years later as a father, husband, Black American and progressive weeks away from voting for our country's first Black presidential nominee who does not appear to back down from revealing a masculinity not fettered by violent rhetoric and domineering bravado.

Day 3, Entry 1 -- Countdown to perfunctoreality

According to the official DNC Convention schedule of events, sometime between 3pmMT - 5pmMT, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will call for a roll call vote, and we will know if indeed Sen. Hillary Clinton will be present and whether or not she (or a surrogate) will release her delegates to Obama.

After her impressive address at the convention last night, one wonders if in fact if Sen. Clinton's PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass) devotees will be more or less inclined to back down and let the inevitable occur without intentionally or practically helping McCain's anti-Obama attack machine.

It appears that Clinton will call for acclamation to prematurely end the roll call to both acknowledge her supporters, document her ground-breaking candidacy, and to confirm and reinforce her commitment to Barack Obama.

 

I'm leaving the DNCC's fancy, decked-out Specialty Media Lounge at the Colorado Convention Center now to head to the Pepsi Center to witness perfunctoreality first-hand. To think, all this potential drama surrounding an outcome  we've all known for months.

Day 2, Entry 1 -- NPR

I had to wake up early this morning to be at the Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver to be on Farai Chideya's show, NPR's News & Notes as part of their regular Bloggers Roundtable.

I was joined by blogdiva Liza Sabater of CultureKitchen and Charles Robinson of CharlesBlackPoliticsBlog.com.

Click here to listen to the show. Among the various topics we covered was the revelation of a plot to assassinate Barack Obama. Click here for the latest update on this disturbing, but all too predictable story.

On a much lighter note, I would not have predicted four years ago when I was the sole credentialed blogger with a site that reached a predominantly Black readership that a nationally syndicated daily program on NPR would feature a weekly segment called the "Bloggers Roundtable" that would rotate on it as guest commentators a growing panoply of Black bloggers.

Kudos, Farai!

 

Day 1, Entry 2 -- Michelle rocked it!

Michelle Obama shared her authentic and compelling voice to the fray by embracing her working-class roots and the values that came with that heritage and her strong family culture, growing up on the Southside of Chicago.

She described her American Dream, how she loved her country through her own unique lens -- not the lens that the mainstream media has chosen to portray her and/or amplify the ignorant assertions of right-wing (and some "centrist") agents who believe patriotism is a commodity item that can only be bought at Walmart.

I was so moved by her words -- especially the phrase, "Barack was determined to give his daughters what he never had: the affirming embrace of a loving father." That's when the proverbial waterworks hit the hot, crowded confines of the blogger compound known as the Big Tent just a stone's throw of the Pepsi Center where she spoke. There was not a dry eye in the house!

The predominantly White and male presence at the Big Tent was overcome with emotion. It reminded me of being in the "bloggers' pen" at the 2004 Convention in Boston up in the nose-bleed section, listening to Barack Obama deliver his historic national address.

Like Barack, I believe that Michelle's speech was even more powerful than his. But unlike Barack's 2004 speech, I did not have to hear moments after Michelle's address, "Wow! [S]he's the Tiger Woods of politics!" I'd like to think now that Michelle Obama's defined herself to the nation on her own terms that she won't be automatically dumped into a non-threatening box (e.g., "the Queen Latifah of politics?").

I know better though.

Day 1, Entry 1 -- From the Sorry to the Sublime

By the time the one-millionth speaker began droning on about how "there are no blue nor red states -- just united states", I wondered if perhaps I should've just stayed at home. After all, at least at home my Internet connection worked, I could charge my various gadgets, and I could eat much better than the fare at the Big Tent, an alternative staging site for progressive bloggers near the Pepsi Center where the convention itself is taking place through Thursday.

Despite the cramped, nerd fraternity feel of the Big Tent, I commend the organizer of this resource -- ProgressNowAction -- who has done a herculean job of raising the funds to organize this confab.

Having arrived in town too late to pick up my official DNCC blogger credentials for the day, I chose not to find a Plan B to get into the convention and met up with my blogging buddy, "blogdiva" Liza Sabater of CultureKitchen.com and KennethColeBlog.com.

She & I took a pedicab from one end of downtown town to the other, passing more Obamaphiles than you can shake a stick at -- peppered with heavily armored, para-military-looking law enforcement agents who looked like the Michellin Man dipped in ink.

We also saw the occasional devout Clintonista. In the photo to the left, I caught blogging comrade Liza standing between an older afro-Clintonista who defiantly declared she would be voting for John McCain and a young Black man donning a "Bros Before Hos" t-shirt to highlight his glorious misogyny for all passersbys to see.

Lordy, lordy. My people, my people!

C'mon, Michelle. Shine your light!

 

"Clean & articulate" Obama picks gaffe-prone & verbose Biden

Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama has chosen as his running-mate, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, senior senator from Delaware, Democrat Joe Biden.

Afro-Netizen received the highly anticipated text message at 3:10am.

When the first text message arrived at just after midnight stating that Obama had picked Rev. John Hagee, we thought just maybe it was spam.

Then, after the official word came, we confirmed that Obama had indeed selected for his running-mate the sage senator from Delaware -- one of the few politicos in America who could make Jesse Jackson look taciturn.

The gaffe-prone, foreign policy wonk Biden will be a great asset to Obama as long as he assiduously avoids misspeaking.

It is rumored that Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes who is Obama's chief web architect has developed a patent pending technology that has been engineered for Biden's use that will keep the verbose senator's feet away from his mouth.

When reached about this, Hughes would not elaborate other than stating that the technology would be tested on Biden shortly, but not in time for today's announcement in Springfield, Illinois.

Anonymous sources have tipped off Afro-Netizen to look for a bulge on the back of the senator's suit. If all goes well, the technology will be licensed for use by Obama surrogates after the Democratic convention is over in Denver next week.

If testing is successful, the campaign will make a formal announcement about this innovation via Twitter next Friday.

 

When asked about this prospect, Biden said, "What the hell is a twitter?! It sounds like . . . --never mind. No comment."