Oklahoma Republican Says Blacks don’t work as hard and have less initiative than whites

The Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate affirmative action in state government. Just last week President Obama revealed his long form birth certificate in an attempt to satisfy birthers, which it did not. And from sea to shining sea, republican politicians are showing their innate racist tendencies. This past spring in Georgia, a Republican pushed a bill to make abortions a crime punishable by life imprisonment or death. Now, the stage has been set in Oklahoma, where a proposed amendment passed by a vote of 59-14 Wednesday evening, with 28 members absent or not voting, to ban Affirmative action.

What makes this worse are the beliefs voiced by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City who suggested that minorities, namely African Americans earn less than white people because they don’t work as hard and have less initiative than whites.

Rep. Kern added to her inflammatory and ignorant remarks by saying, “We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”

It is obvious that Republicans, as well as their Tea party constituents desire to “take America back,” which means restoring the legacy of white power, white supremacy and discrimination for the benefits of whites at the expense of others including Spanish speaking immigrants, Muslims and African Americans.

They desire to turn the clock back far enough where Blacks will not be able to vote or hold office. Kern and Trump feel that the solution to America in the age of Obama is to discriminate more and make it hard to discern any distinction between a "birther" and a "racist.” They fail to see that they are the problem and that if Oklahoma is like the US Congress, as legislators, they work less than the average American, yet receive a FULL benefits package. Republicans claim that playing the mythical race card is bad politics but yet they live on divide and conquer.

NeNe Leaks, Lil Jon and Star Jones: Cowards Afraid to Speak out against Donald Trump’s Claim Obama Not Born in America

African Americans have a strong history of standing up against injustice and hatred. This is not the case currently. Although America has its first African American President, many who claim to support Obama are silent in the right’s quest to humiliate and doubt his legitimacy to serve as the commander in chief.

Just last week we lost a great scholar who made a career in speaking out for truth and against racist dogma, Dr. Manning Marable, but now, it seems we are top heavy with more entertainers and athletes and celebrities that thinkers, intellectuals and those concerned with the collective over the individual. True, entertainers and celebrities can hold the banner for such as James Brown, Bill Crosby, Arthur Ashe, Hank Aaron and Muhammad Ali did in the past, but such is not the case for celebrities today.

Over the past few weeks, Presidential hopeful and tea party fuck boy Donald Trump has been front and center in stating his belief that President Obama as not being a native born American citizen. Triumph, a billionaire and executive producer of the weekly television show “Celebrity Apprentice.”, has received some criticism from African Americans but not much. Especially from celebrities.

On his show there are several people of color including the rapper Little Jon, the reality television beneficiary Ne Ne Leaks, singer Dionne Warrick, and Lawyer Star Jones, but to my amazement, none have spoken out openly against Trumps assertions that Obama was not born in America. I find this troubling for two reasons. First that they are afraid and subconsciously see Trump as a slave master who would be more prone to chop off their foot for not changing their slave name (a metaphor for money) than to stand for the truth and their community. The second is that they appear to be cowards, afraid to voice their beliefs in support of Obama, as if they have forgotten they will not have water hose sprayed on them or dogs let loose on them.

I am very saddened that in 2011, people feel obligated to act more as slaves than free individuals. That is unless they too believe Obama is not a native born American. If they do not, then they seem to serve their selves over the community, the same community that supported them and made them wealthy. For being ashamed to voice a political opinion for a man you support is both loathsome and cowardice and reminds me of what George Orwell once wrote: In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.