Our Black President

President Obama is a man of great intellect.  The anti- George W,  it is his head, not his gut, which dictates his decisions. To some of his detractors, this makes him appear dispassionate and distant.

Yet, there is a fire burning within and he is at his finest, his most eloquent, when that passion emerges. And while I am certain he would think it best that his own trials and tribulations as a black man not be highlighted,  this nation is not at a place and time where that is appropriate.

Despite Mr. Obama's election, we are still far from Mr. King's mountaintop.  Notwithstanding the recent ruling of the Supreme Court, rampant racism is evident in efforts to disenfranchise blacks.  And in the death of Trayvon Martin, the assumption of guilt by color is once more revealed.

President Obama should speak of these injustices from a personal perspective. He should be full of fierce emotion in responding to unwarranted attacks on his presidency or his people. He would do a grave disservice to this nation if he did not, at a moment like this, remind us in powerful tones what it means to be black in the United States.