If you thought nothing could be more frivolous than conservatives questioning whether the president was born in the United States, think again. The recent criticism of President Obama’s decisions to worship Easter Sunday at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and invite poet/rapper Common to participate in a White House celebration of poetry illustrates how far his critics will stoop to manufacture a controversy.
Fox News
was hysterical over the Obamas’ decision to worship at the predominantly Black
church founded in the 1800s by former slaves. Sean Hannity, co-host of Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes,
aired a clip from the speech Rev. Wallace Smith, the pastor of Shiloh, had
given at Eastern University, in Davids, Pa.
“It may
not be Jim Crow anymore,” said Rev. Smith. “Now, Jim Crow wears blue pinstripes, goes to law school and
carries fancy briefs in cases. And
now, Jim Crow has become James Crow, esquire. And, he doesn’t have to wear white robes anymore because now
he can wear the protective cover of talk radio or can get a regular news
program on Fox.”
After the
clip aired as part of Hannity’s criticism of the president, Rev. Smith said his
church received more than 100 threats via telephone and e-mail.
On his
show, Fox host Bill O’Reilly tried to dismiss Rev. Smith as a “racial activist”
and kept objecting to Smith’s observation on Easter that the original U.S.
Constitution was a flawed document that did not count African descendants as
full human beings.
O’Reilly
made the mistake of inviting Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of Third Baptist Church in
San Francisco and president of the local NAACP chapter, to discuss the Obama
decision to worship at Shiloh. Rev. Brown noted that Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton
had attended the same church as president without being criticized.
When
O’Reilly said they attended under different circumstances, Rev. Brown corrected
him: “It was the same church with the same pastor with the same views.”
The first
lady hosted an event at the White House to celebrate American poetry and prose.
Among the performers invited was Lonnie Rashid Lynn, better known as Common.
Various
Fox News personalities criticized Common for his work, titled A Song for
Assata, written in honor of Assata Shakur, the Black Panther Party member who
was convicted of the 1973 murder of New Jersey State Trooper Werner
Foerster. The trooper was shot
twice in the head with his own gun. Black Panther Party member Zayd Malik Shakur was also killed in the New
Jersey Turnpike shootout. Both
Assata Shakur and another state trooper, James Harper, were injured in the
exchange of gunfire. Assata Shakur
escaped from prison in 1979 and has been living in Cuba in political asylum
since 1984.
In his
tribute, Common wrote: “Assata had
been convicted of a murder she couldna done. Medical evidence shown she couldna
shot the gun.” Although Fox led
the recent campaign against Common, the network’s Jason Robinson told Common
last year: “Your music is very
positive. And you’re known as the
conscious rapper.”
It is
unfair to hold Obama responsible for the lyrics of Common and not apply the
same standard to other presidents.
Daily
Show comedian Jon Stewart drove home that point when he cited the lyrics of
Johnny Cash: “Early one mornin’ while makin’ the rounds/I took a shot of
cocaine and I shot my woman down.” Cash was invited to the White House by presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan
and Clinton.
In 1991,
President George H.W. Bush invited rapper Easy-E to the White House. His group, NWA, released a song titled,
F--- tha Police.
Again,
there was no public outrage.
By
today’s standard, Common’s lyrics are mild. So mild that The Gap featured him in an ad for its 2006 fall
collection. He has also appeared
in such movies as American Gangster, Terminator Salvation and Date Night,
featuring Tina Fey and Steve Carell.
Lost in
the controversy over Common was the purpose of the White House event, which was
to honor poetry.
As
President Obama said at the event, “The power of poetry is everybody
experiences it differently. There
are no rules on what makes a great poem. Instead, a great poem is one that resonates with us and challenges us
and teaches us something about ourselves.”
George E.
Curry is a keynote speaker, moderator and media coach.
