Cape Politics

Blacks and Greeks

New Hampshire and MLK Day
The Granite State was the last to adopt this holiday

January 21, 2008 - Martin Luther King Day in Masachusetts and pretty much everywhere in the US. It's worth noting however that New Hampshire was the last state to adopt the federal holiday, which is emblematic of Barack Obama's dissapointing loss there in the Democratic Primary of couple of weeks ago.

But there is more going on in the Presidential campaign than just old racial predudices. Many of the Black leaders that marched with MLK are today supporting someone other than the first viable black candidate for president in this nation's history. 

The Andrew Youngs of the world are backing a safer bet in Hillary Clinton rather than the new kid, Barack Obama.  One would guess it was because her husband, the former President, was good to them in his term, so they are repaying the favor.

I doubt it's because they don't think Barack Obama can be elected. It think it's precisely because Senator Obama can be elected that they are supporting the other guy.

Greek Lessons

In 1988, the Archbishiop of the Greek Orthodox Church should have been elated that one of its sons was nominated to be President of  this county.  A historic occasion for a Greek and an Orthodox. The leader of the Church was also a friend of the Michael Dukakis from the days Dukakis served him as an alterboy during Iakovos' post at the Boston Cathedral in the 1940's.

And to his credit, Archbishop Iakovos had the vision in 1963 to march with MLK in Selma, Alabama . He knew MLK when they were both preaching in Boston. But he was criticized widely by the Greek American community for doing so at the time.  Unfornately, he could not draw upon the same wisdon in his waning years to endorse his own son of the same church and mother country 1n 1988.

Had Dukakis been elected President, Archbishop Iakovos would no longer be the most prominent Greek and Orthodox man in America. President Michael Dukakis would be. Therein lies the story behind the photograph the Archbishop took with George Bush (41)  in the fall of 1988, just before the election.  He was signaling his following his lack of support for Dukakis.

This would be sort of like the Pope having his picture taken with Richard Nixon in 1960.

House Servants vs. Field Hands

Similarly today, if Senator Barack Obama were to be elected President, the Charlie Rangle's (Congressman)  and Bob Johnsons (BET Founder) of the world would lose their pre-eminance as Black leaders,  so they're "sticking" with a known commodity like Hillary and Bill and "sticking" it to Barack. They like working in the Main House. They would hate to lose their status to the field hands doing the real work for progress today.

It seems to me that Barack Obama's candidacy for President was Martin Luther King's dream.

I guess the new generation of Black leaders, like Obama have their work cut for them. Just as MLK did 40 years ago.