Your Black News: Marc Lamont Hill Talks Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh

by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

Columbia University

Over the past week, the political world has been tuned into a highly  unusual soap opera involving Republican Committee Chair Michael Steele  and conservative radio jock Rush Limbaugh. After Limbaugh was publicly  lambasted for stating that he wanted President Obama’s agenda to fail,  Democratic leaders wisely used the moment as an opportunity to anoint  the polarizing pundit as the de facto leader of the GOP. Steele, the  actual leader of the party, dismissed Limbaugh as a mere “entertainer”  whose show trades in “ugly” and “incendiary” remarks. Limbaugh soon  fired back, telling Steele to do his job and to stop acting like a  “talking head media star.”

Of course, partisan infighting is not uncommon in politics –though  such public spats are typically the property of the Democrats.  The  difference, however, has been the party’s response. Instead of  rallying around its newly appointed leader Steele, GOP honchos have  either taken the side of Rush Limbaugh or remained conspicuously silent. Even Steele himself caved into Limbaugh, apologizing for his  remarks and removing any lingering doubt about who the real don is.
By allowing Michael Steele to be publicly undressed by a party  extremist, Republicans have tacitly confirmed what many of us already  knew: they haven’t changed one bit. Despite their post-November promises to rise above bitter partisanship, the GOP decided to cosign  Limbaugh’s antipatriotic machinations. Instead of living up to their  promise to broaden their message and appeal, Republicans have instead opted to defer to the steward of its most vile, ignorant, and bigoted  constituency. Most disturbingly, they have legitimized their antidemocratic enterprise by hiring a black man,  but giving him no more political muscle than the queen of England.

To be clear, I am not trying to diss Michael Steele, who I know personally and like a great deal despite our political differences. My concern is that the seductive aroma of power and prestige have  diverted his attention from the harsh realities of his circumstance. 
Like many prominent African Americans, Steele has climbed the heights  of white society under the false premise that he is being judged purely on merit rather than color. This couldn’t be further from the  truth. While the Republican party is willing to use Steele’s black  face to celebrate its ostensible progress, it is equally committed to  reducing him to nothing more than a paper champion. Hopefully, Brother  Steele will stop drinking the Kool-Aid long enough to recognize this  and come back home.

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10 Reasons I Appreciate Rev. Jesse Jackson Over NaS

Less than a week ago, I had an exhausting discussion with a friend, as to why I am more rest-assured with my future in the hands of Rev. Jesse Jackson (and his generation) as opposed to the supremely-gifted Emcee NaS (and his generation). I tried to argue against the delusion that the - unfortunately termed - "post civil-rights" generation has incorporated. Their belief system seems to be structured on a repudiation of the notion that race remains an indomitable force in our experience today. I explained that while the older generation might be applying outdated mechanisms to battle the flaring fires of racism, inequality, bigotry, prejudice and satanical deception, the very act of an acknowledgment of those realities was enough for me (or at least more appealing, over the naiveté of the young). I also attempted to explicate the dangerous terrain of lending credence to an un-tested and ill-prepared generation of young adults, who are at best, entertaining activists, and at worst, mere fools. In this rather short piece, I hope to outline 10 points, as to why I am more appreciative of the resilience put forth by the likes of Rev. Jesse Jackson - excluding Rev. Al - than the brilliance, yet frequent buffoonery of the "Hip-Hop" generation:

1. Jesse Jackson never rapped, "I rap divine, God, check the prognosis, is it real or showbiz/ My window faces shootouts, drug overdoses/... My intellect prevails from a hanging cross with nails/ I reinforce the frail, with lyrics that's real/ Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats/ I decipher prophecies through a mic and say peace" and then a few years later, make a song entitled "Oochie Wally," upon which he expressed some of the most misogynistic lyrics ever scripted.
2. Jesse Jackson never reminisced on his childhood, by saying "When I was 12, I went to hell for snuffing Jesus."
3. Jesse Jackson never once forgot his lines (or lyrics) at a live show, and claim that weed (ganja, licky licky, cannabis, hash, Mary Jane... whatever) was the operative factor in his amnesia.
4. Jesse Jackson was never accused (true of falsified) of punching the mother of his baby, after an intense argument.
5. Jesse Jackson never, ever, ever made a song with Lil' John.
6. Jesse Jackson was, and is the first African-American to be a contender in a presidential election.
7. Jesse Jackson is an accomplished and monumental civil-rights activist, who has fought aggressively for the recognition of Black suffering and pain.
8. Jesse Jackson formulated the RainbowPUSH coalition, which has remained a staple in the quest for Social Change and Economic Justice for Black People.
9. Jesse Jackson has been on the forefront of the fight against malicious co-oporations which preyed upon innocent Black and Brown families -- ergo facilitating the recent mortgage meltdown. In a Democracy Now! appearance before his march on Wall Street, he noted "what was a scheme became a scam."
10. Finally - as Dave Chappelle once remarked with regard to his defiance in accepting the incrimination of Michael Jackson, saying "he made thriller;" - I cannot bypass the man, who, in 1984, gave a rousing "David and Goliath" speech, in which he equated the chances and choices of the innocent David, against the seemingly unconquerable Goliath, with the negro experience in America.

Lastly, while it must be said that the 'more experienced aisle of leadership' is in better shape to move Black America forward, any form of condescension toward the younger generation must also be unequivocally censured -- as the vigor, talent, fortitude and fecklessness of the youth has been an irreducible contribution in our collective struggle for taxation with representation.