Obama and Black America: Who Has Whose Back?

• Author: Gray, Kevin Alexander

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"I've said to you on many occasions that each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality. We're split up and divided against ourselves. And there is something of a civil war going on within all of our lives. There is a recalcitrant South of our soul revolting against the North of our soul."

--Martin Luther King Jr., "Loving Your Enemies," November 17, 1957

Iran into Congressman Jim Clyburn at a local Baptist church during the 2010 midterm election season while campaigning with South Carolina Green Party senate candidate Tom Clements. As we all exchanged pleasantries, I jokingly mentioned to Jim that I had gotten his campaign mail with the picture of him and President Obama. He seemed genuinely pleased--so much so that he walked me over to check out the special poster he had at his campaign table. The poster was also of Clyburn with the commander in chief. In the photo, Clyburn appears to be making a point in the President's ear. Obama looks and leans as though he's listening. The U.S. flag is in the background. At the bottom of the poster reads the caption: "Jim has the President's ear, and now we must have their backs!!!"

Clyburn didn't really need Obama's help in getting reelected in his safe district, which is 57 percent African American. And he's never had any serious opposition to his seat. But it would have taken some help from Obama for him to keep his spot as the second-ranking Democrat in the House after the drubbing their party took in the midterm elections. That help was not forthcoming. When the dust settled, Clyburn wasn't even offered the minority whip job, which went to Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Clyburn was given the new title of assistant Democratic leader. Clyburn has fewer staff than before, he is no longer involved in vote-counting, nor is he a key party messenger.

Clyburn's demotion has not sat well with the Congressional Black Caucus, which he used to chair. But it typifies Obama's seemingly callous indifference to African Americans across the board.

Last December, when he was polling at almost 90 percent among blacks, during a White House press conference a black reporter asked Obama about grumblings among the black leadership. He replied: "I think if you look at the polling, in terms of the attitudes of the African American community, there's overwhelming support for what we've tried to do."

Figures released that month showed that black unemployment rose from 15.7 percent to 16 percent, almost double the national rate. And the unemployment rate for black teens stood at a staggering 46.5 percent. When Obama...