The "A" Word
Again, Eugene Robinson says it so I won't have to:
That "something" it their blackness; these are men who grew up in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement: not just watching it on TV from the safety of suburban America, or debating it on the Sunday political program, but in it. The marches, the dogs, the hoses. Obama doesn't come from this, but he does have a cultural background that connects him to the African-American community. It's (one reason) why white politicians thought calling Obama -and also Condi Rice- "articulate" was...safe. But they don't get the connotation. Robinson goes on:
Or in other words, "S/he's black how I like it." As long as Biden doesn't do anything stupid, like say, hold a press conference to announce he hired a black person for some random position (thereby "proving" that he's "down") he should be fine.
Yes, I'm ranting a bit. But before you accuse me of being hypersensitive, try to think of the last time you heard a white public figure described as articulate. Acclaimed white orators such as Bill Clinton and John Edwards are more often described as eloquent.
What's intriguing is that Jackson and Sharpton are praised as eloquent, too -- both men are captivating speakers who calibrate their words with great precision. But neither is often described as, quote, articulate. Apparently, something disqualifies them.
That "something" it their blackness; these are men who grew up in the heart of the Civil Rights Movement: not just watching it on TV from the safety of suburban America, or debating it on the Sunday political program, but in it. The marches, the dogs, the hoses. Obama doesn't come from this, but he does have a cultural background that connects him to the African-American community. It's (one reason) why white politicians thought calling Obama -and also Condi Rice- "articulate" was...safe. But they don't get the connotation. Robinson goes on:
The word articulate is being used to encompass not just speech but a whole range of cultural cues -- dress, bearing, education, golf handicap. It's being used to describe a black person around whom white people can be comfortable, a black person who not only speaks white America's language but is fluent in its body language as well...
...Articulate is really a shorthand way of describing a black person who isn't too black -- or, rather, who comports with white America's notion of how a black person should come across.
Or in other words, "S/he's black how I like it." As long as Biden doesn't do anything stupid, like say, hold a press conference to announce he hired a black person for some random position (thereby "proving" that he's "down") he should be fine.
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