The knee jerk firing of a black USDA official over a misrepresented speech by her white boss is another example of presidential "Responsible Negro" moments.
Many dispute the link of Rev Wright to the Sherrod incident but they fail to see that the attack on Obama with Rev. Wright as a tool started in the same place as that on Van Jones and Sherrod. Right wing "racist" Faux news the self proclaimed defender of "real Americans". Sherrod is yet another example of the historic role of "responsible negroes" as the forerunner of the Klan/Cracker mentality that is endemic to white America.
The role of responsible Negro goes as far back, for our purposes, to the enslavement of Africans in Africa. Indeed it is known that the role of capturer and transporter of Africans from the interior to the coast was done by Responsible Negroes. Once in America, there were special places on plantations for Africans willing to be enforcers for the small minority on white people. Throughout our stay here religious persons have been used as go-betweens who would on one hand try to talk white folks out of lynching or otherwise harming a community member and on the other hand, making calls for the community to "chill out" lest the white community come down on them.
Indeed even the peaceable Dr. King Jr. had many "community leaders" complain that he was rocking the boat by being too confrontational, asking for too much and too soon. Dr. King was seen as someone who would get communities burned down and get people lynched if he kept "carrying on like that". Indeed Responsible Negroes have been part and parcel of the southern (and northern) strategy to keep blacks "in their place". As I have said many times the purpose of the Klan was not to terrorize black people or to kill them, but to keep blacks in their place. If that meant a lynching or two then so be it. Blacks got the message.
To this day in many corporate places and other somewhat public places, the vast majority of black people are scared witless to say anything negative about white people within earshot of other white people. Most times if the subject of white folks comes up they will either use code words or whisper. Sometimes they'll do both. There are possibly many reasons for this, but the overwhelming reason is that most black people have been taught to nearly an instinctual level that to upset white people can be an existential threat. It also known on an equally near instinctual level that to make white people comfortable is not only a means of corporate survival but of advancement (even outside of the job). Equally, just as the black preacher Responsible Negro could be the gatekeeper of access to white largess by vouching for the "responsibility" of the Negro seeking favour, today's political and corporate Negroes behave in the same manner.
These corporate and political responsible negroes regularly vet the bonafides of other negroes attempting to "get in on the action". They regularly sideline so called "radical negroes" because such negroes (provided they are sane) represent a threat to their power. One the one hand, if these gate keeper negroes are seen as being friendly with said radical negroes then the gatekeeper becomes suspect and loses prestige and perhaps access. Thus we come to Obama.
Obama is the ultimate 2010 Responsible Negro. If we go back to the Rev. Wright situation by all facts, Rev Wright did and said nothing wrong. The "Goddam America" quote was known to be a quote of a book by a white man discussing the fall of nations. It was religious discourse discussing the possible parallels between the US and other past kingdoms. You can debate the merits of it, but Wright had not "damned" America. The "antics" of the press club appearance is credited with the break. But lets be serious what exactly was said and done that warranted presidential candidate level condemnation? A "Q" sign? Snarky remarks to a questioner? Really? Again, how were those a reflection of or on Obama?
But of course the real issue with Rev. Wright was the usual attempt at keeping this black guy, Obama, in his place. How dare he listen to a black person for so long who speaks so "radically". "Who does he think he is?" They said to themselves. "We'll test this Negro." And of course that was what was done. Obama let white folk know he could be counted on to be a Responsible Negro when he gave his Philly speech. I went through that speech so I wont repeat it here, but when he made the claim that Wright represented a bitter/angry old man who's time is past. That was clear "Responsible Negro" talk. Just as of old when the old Reverend said: Don't mind the boy. He's crazy and doesn't know what he's doing. I will personally make sure he never does x,y or z, again. Please don't take it out on our home."
Similarly we had Van Jones who made some comments that upset some white folk. He's known as a leading proponent of green jobs that is good for every American. But it did not matter. Just as bus segregation was costly to the bus lines in Montgomery the idea of White Supremacy had to be defended regardless of any economic consequences. And so again the old Responsible Negro action kicked in. On the surface this was about saving the health reform bill. But in reality this was about appeasement of a segment of white people hell bent on keeping Obama (and Jones) in their place. Neither Van Jones or Rev Wright ever belonged to an organization that actually killed people due to their race. None of them actually belonged to a group that not only believed in the racial superiority of their group but actually went about disenfranchising people over their race like a certain former Senator from West Virginia. Yet here they were getting the Responsible Negro treatment.
The right wing came to understand that Obama was vulnerable to racial attacks. All they had to do is make a situation look racist, and Obama and his people would do whatever they needed to in order to not seem to be harboring racists AKA: be Responsible Negroes. And so we have Sherrod. If anything, this latest incident shows just how week the Obama camp is on race. Not only was Sherrod the victim of a smear campaign but the very persons and organizations that ought to have been at the forefront of helping her out were so worried about What White People Think (TM) they didn't even bother to fact check the claim that came from an organization KNOWN for attacking relatively outspoken black people.
I wont even get into the problem of Sherrod's white boss calling her up on the phone to demand her resignation. Why was he willing to believe a rumor about his employee rather than get the record straight? Why do we have a "black" president and this cracker still has a job? It is clear that the tone has been set by Obama that his 'Responsible Negro" image needs to be protected at all costs. I've made the comment before in regards to the Cirroc Vodka advertising flap that the head of the company sets the tone for what is acceptable. If the CEO of a company sets the tone that he prefers light skinned "exotic" women to represent his brand then an advertising agency hired by his representatives will make that known. If president Obama makes it clear that he will not go for the firing or harassment of his black staff by right wing commentators without cause, then his people will, for the sake of keeping their jobs, make sure that anyone fired is fired after a thorough investigation.
If Obama and other Negroes insist on playing the Responsible Negro role, then they should expect more of the same. The saddest thing about the Responsible Negro is that most times after he's left the company of the white folk he's doing his best to be on good terms with, they go back to calling him a nigger. He's just "fortunate" they don't say it to his face.
[Update: Cheryl Cook a Department of Agriculture undersecretary was the one who actually called Sherrod and demanded the resignation[/update]
(17 years of informed commentary)