Cornell West: ‘Obama A Republican In Blackface’, Is It One Party With 2 Names? [POLL]

With the rising numbers of poor African-Americans in this country, the prison-industrial complex, and unemployment among African-Americans at an all-time high; Cornell West says that ‘Obama is a Republican in Blackface’!

Do you see Mr. West’ views about Obama divisive or is he speaking truth to power when you look around the black community?

Seriously, what puzzles me most about most African-Americans is that we tend to cling to tradition, for instance, the Democratic Party. Most African-Americans have chosen this party because it is and was the party that their parents, grandparents, and their grandparents were affiliated with, and if you ask them why, most will not have a very intelligent answer for you. In fact, one time in history

It somewhat reminds me of religion where most African-Americans have put their belief and faith in the same Dogma for generations, just following a system of submission to something that was given to those whom came before them without any critical thinking of what it is that they are gravitating and clinging too!

Here’s another interesting fact that a lot of African-Americans do not know and that is before blacks were Democrats they were Republican.

You might be surprised at some of the ancestors that were Republicans:

Martin Luther King, Jr.

(1929-1968)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 at his family home in Atlanta, Georgia. King's grandfather was a Baptist preacher, and his father was pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. Dr. King earned his own Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozier Theological Seminary in 1951 and earned his Doctor of Philosophy from Boston University in 1955. As a Baptist Minister, he was an eloquent civil rights movement leader from the mid-1950's until his death by assassination on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee where he was there to support striking sanitation workers.

As pastor of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King led a black bus boycott. He and ninety others were arrested and indicted under the provisions of a law making it illegal to conspire to obstruct the operation of a business. Dr. King and several others were found guilty, but appealed their case. A Supreme Court decision in 1956 ended Alabama's segregation laws enacted by Democrats. After this success, Dr. King was made president of the newly established Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. King led the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered his most famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Dr. King became a national hero as he promoted non-violent means to achieve civil rights reform. He was awarded the 1964 Noble Peace Prize for his efforts, and President Ronald Reagan made Dr. King’s birthday a national holiday.

Carter G. Woodson

(1875 - 1950)

"Switch parties if you are not being represented."

These are the words of Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, distinguished Black author, editor, publisher, and historian. Carter G. Woodson believed that Blacks should know their past in order to participate intelligently in the affairs in our country. He strongly believed that Black history - which others have tried so diligently to erase - is a firm foundation for young Black Americans to build on in order to become productive citizens of our society.

Known as the father of Black history, Dr. Woodson at the peak of the Harlem Renaissance established "Negro History Week" in 1926 during the second week of February to commemorate the birthday of abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. Woodson sought to create a forum that later became Black History Month. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915.

Frederick Douglass

(1817 - 1895)

Frederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement which fought to end slavery within the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War. He eagerly attended the founding meeting of the republican party in 1854 and campaigned for its nominees.

A brilliant speaker, Douglass was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to engage in a tour of lectures, and so became recognized as one of America's first great black speakers. He won world fame when his autobiography The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, in which he gave specific details of his bondage, was publicized in 1845. Two years later, he began publishing an anti-slavery paper called the North Star. He was appointed Minister Resident and Consul General to Haiti by President Benjamin Harrison on July 1, 1889, the first black citizen to hold high rank in the U.S. government.

Douglass served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks. After the Civil War, Douglass realized that the war for citizenship had just begun when Democrat President Andrew Johnson proved to be a determined opponent of land redistribution and civil and political rights for former slaves. Douglass began the postwar era relying on the same themes that he preached in the antebellum years: economic self-reliance, political agitation, and coalition building. Douglass provided a powerful voice for human rights during this period of American history and is still revered today for his contributions against racial injustice.

Mary McLeod Bethune

(1875 - 1955)

Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, presidential advisor, civil rights advocate, and one of America's most influential African American leaders. As former slaves, Bethune's parents were determined that she accept an offer from a Quaker woman to attend school when few educational opportunities were available to African Americans.

Bethune founded a school for African-American girls in Daytona, Florida, which in 1923 became the co-educational Bethune-Cookman College. As college president until 1942, her efforts gained tremendous recognition. Bethune became a national leader and united all major black women's organizations across the nation into one powerful group, the National Council of Negro Women. As its president for 14 years, Bethune led campaigns against segregation and discrimination. Presidents Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt and Truman sought her advice on issues concerning black Americans, and Franklin Roosevelt appointed her director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration. She was the first black woman to ever head a federal agency.