Reports from Haiti of brave, determined and hopeful people in half-mile-long lines who walked hours to cast their ballots by candlelight – some even stampeded trying to get into polling stations – should be sobering news for African Americans.
Coretta Scott King’s funeral in suburban Atlanta on Tuesday was a reflection of the predominant feelings among blacks in this country about the Bush administration and its policies. A large turnout of African Americans on election day can help dictate the outcome of many political contests, and elections in Missouri are prime examples. African-American leadership should strive to make better use of the precious franchise that African Americans enjoy in this country and the crucial role we can play in upcoming elections.
The importance of the potential of the African-American vote was underscored by President Bush’s last-minute decision to attend Mrs. King’s funeral. Bush and his Republican strategists understand that they do not need to risk being seen as indifferent to the highly celebrated passing of a widely beloved African-American civil rights icon. An aroused African-American community could pose significant problems for vulnerable Republican candidates in close races.
While he must have known he would not receive a particularly warm welcome, the president was visibly surprised and upset by the level of antipathy his presence provoked. This was a gathering that included many civil rights and political leaders whom Bush has intentionally ignored during his five-year tenure in the White House. He has preferred to engage pastors of black evangelical churches and conservative business leaders. The president should not have been surprised by this in-your-face rebuke, given that he had traveled far from the carefully selected audience he is accustomed to addressing.
Much has been said about how inappropriate some of the speakers were with Bush present. If some comments from the podium were political, so was the president’s motivation for attending. Karl Rove will snidely spin this tongue-lashing of the president’s conduct as a “Hate Bush” diatribe for Bush’s political base, but the biting criticisms were not personal and seemingly not planned. They were, rather, heartfelt responses to the Bush administration’s policies and performance and Bush’s personal presence on this solemn occasion. This was more than a perfunctory ceremony for a deceased person. This was a celebration of the life and purpose of someone closely tied to ideas the Bush administration has ignored or actively opposed.
The real question is whether the funeral was an authentic reflection of Mrs. King’s life. She was an activist. This long-overdue critique of Bush’s disastrous policies – which have wreaked particular havoc in the African-American community – should resonate in our community and help energize our people. We can best serve her memory if we now follow the example of the beleaguered Haitian people and seize every opportunity to effect change.