I am sure many have heard the recent verbal skirmish between the two Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hilary Clinton. Although it appears that the corporate media finally found the dirt it had been seeking for long in order to start a knock-down drag-out dirty fight between the candidates, it can be argued that the Hillary camp may have purposely started this race controversy in order to goad Obama, who, up until that point, had intentionally avoided talking about race for fear of being labeled "another black rebel" as others before him were.  Of course, this is my own opinion based on past observations of the Clintons' skillful manipulation of the African American community, so much so that Bill Clinton was dubbed "the first black president of the US" by the African American community.

However, this recent fight which stemmed from a comment made by Hillary Clinton about Martin Luther King needing Lyndon Johnson in order to get the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed, seems to have touched major nerve in the African American community and has created a division among these communities. While there is of course truth to Mrs. Clinton's statement, it nevertheless smacks of white arrogance and even tinge of subtle racism in that it perpetuates that old stereotype that black people will always need white people to hold their hands to cross that street to a place called "freedom".

In the context of this presidential race, the obvious be it cynical conclusion one can make is that, Sen. Clinton is saying black people will always need white people, especially in the White House, in order to have anything accomplished. Translation? It is still not the time for a black man to become president of the United States.  So Barack, please stay in the back of the campaign bus wait for your turn; it's still not your time yet. This may sound like a harsh analysis to some, but how else can one interpret Sen. Clinton's unsolicited remark about Martin Luther King and Lyndon B Johnson, especially so close to the celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday?  The timing of the incident also re-enforces my theory that this may have been a calculated and well-timed hit job by the Clintons in order to start a controversy which looks like it achieved its intended purpose. The obvious question then is, why would Sen. Clinton say something controversial that would create a division in the African American community and risk support from the African American community? Well, my answer is that, after Obama's win in Iowa and his close second place finish in New Hampshire, Clinton's camp may have been worried about South Carolina, the next big primary state with 54 delegates and a huge African American population, and that may have put them in a position where they had to take a drastic measure to stop that freight train called Obama. 

The Clintons are no saints when it comes to power.  Remember Ricky Ray Rector the mentally incompetent African American whose execution Mr. Clinton resided over in 1992 while he was governor of Arkansas and a Democratic presidential candidate? Mr. Clinton suspended his campaign to make sure that he was present during the execution just to make a political statement about the death penalty. How about the infamous " Sister Souljah Moment " when President Clinton compared her to David Duke, the white supremacist?  And how about the incarceration of 100,000 more African Americans under Bill Clinton than Ronald Reagan, and his inaction in the Rwanda genocide which he refused to get involved in until it was too late? There's more, but who's counting? In the last couple of weeks, the Clintons have shown that they are willing to go to any length, including the use of surrogates, to smear opponents whom they consider impediment to their ambition.  Some of these surrogates even included prominent African Americans like Bob Johnson, founder of BET and members of Mrs. Clinton's staff.  

How is that for a birthday present to Dr. King on his 79^th birthday? I am sure he is spinning in his grave.

Well, as a reminder of what MLK stood for I present to you his "Beyond Vietnam" speech that he gave on April 4th 1967 at Riverside Church in New York city. This speech is just as true and timely today as it was back in 1967. Events and issues today are very much similar as they were in the 1960's, not just in the US, but also around the world.  Many believe that this speech may have been the death nail to Dr King's dream and his life because of the harsh criticism he laid on the US government and its role in Vietnam.  Exactly a year to the day, in 1968, he was killed by an assassin's bullet in Memphis Tennessee.

Here is the " Beyond Vietnam " speech.


Happy Birthday MLK!