“I expect all of you to march with me and press on. (Applause.) Take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. (Applause.) Stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. We are going to press on. We’ve got work to do, CBC.”
— President Obama, Sept. 24, 2011
Yes, black members of Congress shut up and “stop grumbling.” The unemployment rate for black Americans is 16.7%, 18% for males, 46% for young adults — so no money is coming into those households… These numbers are historic but shut the hell up. The foreclosure crisis has caused the biggest decrease in wealth in 50 years amongst your constituents – but the President says, “shake it off.” Black member of Congress: The President needs you to shut up. Don’t you get it? While your Tea Party colleagues loudly dismantle Medicare and Social Security: Stop crying. I wonder: Did Richard Nixon tell you that when he refused to even meet with the CBC in 1972? (Actually it was just the opposite — see short video) Stop grumbling and quit mentioning these problems CBC. To be sure: Anytime in politics someone tells you to keep quiet, something’s wrong. When has keeping quiet and not complaining worked for any political movement?
In the districts of Reps. John Conyers and Maxine Waters the unemployment rate is over 40%. When people say the CBC “doesn’t do 
anything…” the President apparently needs to make sure they’re right and not say a word about the problems their constituents are facing. There are 1.2 million kids dropping out of high school, 52% of black males drop out — but don’t talk about it CBC. The average wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households – stop grumbling. There are 2.3 million in prison in the U.S. at a cost of $63 million a year, 840,000 of them black males (40% of the prison population), stop complaining. When Prof. Michelle Alexander wrote that, ”more black males are in prison than were enslaved in 1850,” earlier this year, no one flinched. The only time the President has mentioned incarceration was in a conversation with Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie regarding Michael Vick — and that was December 2010. Two weeks ago the CENSUS informed us 1 in 7 Americans — 46 million people — live in poverty. Highest in 17 years. And how dare any member of Congress with constituents facing these problems notice the President doesn’t mention these issues — let alone push policy. In a 3,600 word speech to a black audience none of it came up. He used his last 200 words to yell “stop, grumbling, stop complaining.” Clearly, if you can’t mention the above problems at the Black Caucus dinner with a 98% black audience, then when? As Dr. Phil says: You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.
Anyone claiming to be a member of the United States House of Representatives who remains quiet as their constituents deal with the above should be voted out of office — or better, resign. Remaining quiet in life is not an option. Remaining quiet in politics is never an option. For black Americans facing a historic economic situation there is no room for silence. Those who make noise — and combine the noise with money and votes — get what they want. Period. Why are blacks members and black people expected to stop complaining and shut-up? To what other audience would the President deliver such a message? Would the President say this to AIPAC — they’re grumbling too. Marching shoes? Pressing on? Great. The President can use his own advice and march over to John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and tell them that without revenue increases there will be no more “debt deals” and $850 billion dollar tax cut extensions we can’t afford. To this point he has not done that.
President Obama’s excuse for addressing the unemployed is to tell everyone to shut up? Not only won’t he addresses the problem with 99ers but he’s now telling everybody to shut up about it? President Obama has got to have some really big balls.
Know the reason why he’s telling everybody to shut up? Because he’s tired of hearing about the unemployed, the 99ers and he’s telling everybody to shut up about it. Boy, what a skilled diplomat.
I love Obama but I feel he has an OBLIGATION TO ADDRESS the issues that are pertinent to the CBC just like any organization. Don’t talk tough to us and then you can’t find your voice or courage to tell the Rethuglicans that your the HNIC! This is what we been waiting to hear BUT to the wrong crowd. The POTUS needs to address the prevalent issues in the black community he owes us that much.
The Congressional Black Caucus, forty of the most senior members of the House of Representatives
Obama , SHAMED, BELITTLE, INSULTED AND WAS CONDESCENDING
toward the CBC.
Maxine Water said..
‘“I’m not sure who the president was addressing. I found that language a bit curious,”
“The president spoke to the Hispanic Caucus… he certainly didn’t tell them to stop complaining and he never would say that to the gay and lesbian community who really pushed him on don’t ask don’t tell
or even in a speech to APEC, he would never say to the Jewish community stop complaining about Israel.”
INCREDIBLE..
When it sunk it what he had said, I had two reactions:
1. That what he said was the kind of insult that people get smacked across the face for; and
2. To wonder in disbelief: How could he dare say that? And then demand — and not only demand, but to expect — that black people help him get reelected?
I have to wonder if he and his speechwriters realize just what he said? Did they realize just how arrogant and insulting it sounded? And I say that as a white person. God knows what my reaction would have been if I were black.
I can only say that I don’t intend to shut up and I hope nobody in America does, either. This speech only reinforces my wish that Obama wouldn’t run again.
God knows I don’t want a conservative Republican. But I doubt Obama’s ability to help the long term unemployed and to get us out of what may be a double dip recession. I am disgusted, disappointed and confused by everything that’s happened since fall 2008. I am afraid for the future — terrified, really, and I think millions of other Americans share my feelings.
Keep up your wonderful work, Lauren. I really appreciate your constant efforts and reporting.
I
Run again, ya’ll elected him again please. He has done such a good job bring everyone together with all the hope and change.
Not to embarrass the First Black President.
African-American communities – “even entire cities – have been engulfed in a spiraling cycles of misery and hopelessness,”
African Americans are urged to keep their tongues in check so as not to embarrass the First Black President.
An insidious “plot of race loyalty that effectively banishes black suffering from public view,”
Radio show host Tom Joyner told his audience that blacks that criticize the president are “HATERS” and need to be quiet because he (Obama) doesn’t need the black vote to be split.
Joyner asked, “What would it be like without a black man in office?????
Followed by, “If you don’t support him it will be much worse.”
While all other American groups feel free to make their own demands
.
We see Hispanic organizations demanding the passage of the DREAM Act.
We saw the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community push for the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell”.
We witnessed the president of the AFL-CIO, Richard Trumka; threaten reprisals for those politicians who refused to support labor’s agenda
.
Are African Americans expected to shut up and suffer????
That’s just not democratic.
Does the fact of Obama’s presidency commit us to some kind of uncritical loyalty???
Are we to stand by silently in the face of this devastation???
I think not!
“Never solidarity before criticism”
There is always something to be said for making a lot of noise. I remember frequent rallies at Boston Common when Reagan was first elected. My husband and I were college students and these rallies offered some hope, but the momentum was well established to be moving away from democracy.
President Obama not only has to undo Bush II, but Clinton, Bush I, and Reagan, and back to when Goldwater was a candidate, in less than three years. And, yes, I said Clinton. He is venerated now, but he was the worst democrat president. Where is the criticism of his presidency?
We have fallen frighteningly far behind where we were forty years ago. Jobs with no benefits, no jobs at all, no more overtime, in fact you have to work double shifts. Pay has been cut in half. Tea bag logic is that the US removes all illegal aliens and the unemployed can take the crappy jobs and be grateful for them and they don’t even have to have any benefits, especially not health care.
Schools, it’s the fault of good teachers that we came to expect that everyone had a chance at their own future. So, education has become as bad as the conservatives said it was once No Child Left Behind became “law.” Two nieces who teach, have to get rehired every year and their time is spent training kids to take useless tests. Only children from families with the money can really have a future.
Can we fight against this systemic immorality that has taken over? Not, if you read any of the news about the Wall Street protests. I hate to think nothing can be done.
I had such high expectations that things were going to change in a big way for the better. I had not expected to discover that my father-in-law was a tea partier (racist) so quickly after Obama was elected. I believed it would disappear, that these loony tune people would also vanish from the radar. I did not know how contrived the meltdown of 2008 was, and that we had no choice but to bail out banks over and over, instead of re-invigorating our hurting nation. But the loonies are even loonier and the banks are drowning in wealth.
President Obama has not done enough; but he has done so much more than any president I remember.
Is this the Autumn of America? I want to believe there is still a chance for a better future and I vote to re-elect President Obama.