My Grandfather Was Coloured, My Father Was

The Historical Basis For The Gap Between The Black Middle Class And Underclass Shows That Ending Discrimination, By Itself, Would Not Eradicate Black Poverty And Dysfunction. We Also Need Intervention To Promulgate A Middle-class Ethic Of Success Among The Poor, While Expanding Opportunities For Economic Betterment.

Fortunately, In President Obama, The Child Of An African And An American, We Finally Have A Leader Who Is Uniquely Positioned To Bridge The Great Reparations Divide.

For Black America Needs A Politics Whose First Mission Isn't The Reinforcement Of The Idea Of Black America; And A Discourse Of Race That Isn't Centrally Concerned With Preserving The Idea Of Race And Racial Unanimity. We Need Something We Don't Yet Have: A Way Of Speaking About Black Poverty That Doesn't Falsify The Reality Of Black Advancement; A Way Of Speaking About Black Advancement That Doesn't Distort The Enduring Realities Of Black Poverty.

I Rebel At The Notion That I Can't Be Part Of Other Groups, That I Can't Construct Identities Through Elective Affinity, That Race Must Be The Most Important Thing About Me. Is That What I Want On My Gravestone: Here Lies An African American?

You Can Find Virtually Everybody Black Back As Far As The 1870 Census. Why 1870? That's When The Ex-slaves First Have Surnames. But If You Find Your Great-great-grandfather In 1870 And It Says He's 50, That Means He Was Born In 1820 And You're Back To 1820 Already. For An American That's Pretty Damned Good, You Know?