Black Leaders

                              Black Leaders: How they are seen in society

We are all aware of the huge phenomenon, known as the “Obama movement,” that erupted across the states in 2007-08 when Obama ran for office; he would be the first African American to hold the position as the President of the United States.  News networks and other media sources covered his campaign as well as his success into office. Obama did provide the boost and hope that the African American population wanted and needed. Author and Journalist, Keli Goff covered the “Obama movement” in her book Party Crashing which was released in 2008, providing explanations and facts behind how this movement, and Obama himself, impacted a new hope for the new generation of voters at that time. Goff also dives into a topic that is involved in societal thinking and opinions of there only being one “black leader” at a time. A poll was done in 2008 showing that most Americans, when asked about who they believed was a black leader, tended to only name one individual, yet when asked this same question regarding white leaders, those same individuals were able to name multiple individuals. This exemplifies the underlying fact that the African American population is still viewed as the minority population in America. Because of this assumption many people, whether they consciously think it or not, choose one black individual due to the view of African Americans being the minority they would only have one “leader.” This creates an unfortunate and unfair position for African Americans knowing that the majority of the population only views one individual as their “leader” and might base their opinions of the whole African American population of this one person. Although black leaders have historically and still are put under a microscope when they hold a higher position, they still fight to make a name not only for themselves but to represent their own race independent of other factors.

            Recently Dr. Ben Carson an African American neurosurgeon put his “hat” into the 2016 candidacy for the Republican Party. I think this may pose as somewhat of a controversial topic in the near future, not just in America but also within the African American population. Yes Carson is another African American candidate, but he is within the Republican Party and speaking against various policies made by Obama, for example he has compared Obamacare to that of slavery. Carson is only one of many candidates but he is of a different race, therefore he will receive much more attention because of this.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-v0_vDYiT8).

In this video interview Carson presents his views and stance within politics and what will "push" him to throw his hat into the republican party.   

Sources:

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/meet-ben-carson-republican-throw-hat-2016-ring/story?id=26735300

Goff, Keli. Party Crashing: how the hip-hop generation declared political independence. New York; BasicCivitas Books, 2008. Print.