NEW YORK (July 17) - President Barack Obama on Thursday traced his historic rise to power to the vigor and valor of black civil rights leaders, telling the NAACP that the sacrifice of others "began the journey that has led me here." The nation's first black president bluntly warned, though, that racial barriers persist.
"Make no mistake: The pain of discrimination is still felt in America," the president said in honoring the organization's 100th convention.
Addressing members of the NAACP on Thursday, President Barack Obama credited civil rights leaders for paving the way for his historic rise to the presidency, while urging black Americans to take control of their futures. "No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands and don't you forget that," he said at the organization's 100th anniversary convention.
Painting himself as the beneficiary of the NAACP's work, Obama cited historical figures from W.E.B. DuBois to Thurgood Marshall to explain how the path to the presidency was cleared by visionaries.
Obama's remarks, steeped in his personal biography as the son of a white mother from Kansas and black father from Kenya, challenged the audience — those in the room and those beyond — to take greater responsibility for their own future. He told parents to take a more active role and residents to pay better attention to their schools.
Rousing up a friendly crowd, Obama made his first speech so directly linked with race since he took office; the White House says he worked on it for about two weeks. Implicit in his appearance: He is seeking the backing of the powerful NAACP and its members for his ambitious domestic agenda.
The president said that in the current down economy, blacks are suffering high unemployment and are afflicted with more diseases but are less likely to own health insurance. He said that the African-American child is about five times as likely as a white child to be sent to jail.
Obama touted education as essential to improving the lives of all children. He said the state of schools is an American problem, not an African-American one.
"You know what I'm talking about. There's a reason the story of the civil rights movement was written in our schools. There's a reason Thurgood Marshall took up the cause of Linda Brown. There's a reason the Little Rock Nine defied a governor and a mob," Obama said. "It's because there is no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to opportunity than an education that can unlock a child's God-given potential."
"We have to say to our children, `Yes, if you're African-American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher. Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that someone in a wealthy suburb does not,'" Obama said, returning to his tough-love message familiar from his two-year presidential campaign.
"But that's not a reason to get bad grades, that's not a reason to cut class, that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school," he said. "No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands and don't you forget that."
Obama expanded his message of equal rights beyond the black communities. He said many Americans still face discrimination.
Racism, he said, is felt "by African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion for simply kneeling down to pray. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights."
Obama also pressed for NAACP members to encourage their young people to find new role models beyond sports or music.
"I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers," Obama said. "I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States."
To bolster his argument that it's within their reach, he cited his own biography, growing up with a single mother.
"I don't come from a lot of wealth. I got into my share of trouble as a kid. My life could easily have taken a turn for the worse. But that mother of mine gave me love; she pushed me, and cared about my education; she took no lip and taught me right from wrong," Obama said. "Because of her, I had a chance to make the most of my abilities. I had the chance to make the most of my opportunities. I had the chance to make the most of life."
http://news.aol.com/article/obama-naacp-speech/574287
I've been known to be critical towards Obama (any politician for that matter), but I do have to recognize him when he says something that makes a lot of sense. We all come from different situations that make it more or less difficult to succeed. There are many different variables that we cannot control in life, but there is one constant; ourselves. It is frequently constantly insinuated that white people have an easy life and can do what they want to do. That may be true for some people, but I know my life hasn't been peaches and cream.
My dad never finished High School. My mother finished high school, but has never been to college. As a matter of fact, one side of my family is full of high school dropouts and the other hasn't had a lot of post high school education. My mom and dad have never really had money and I make more than each of them. I do not have a college degree yet, but I will have one before I turn 30 years old. I was the first person in the family with my last name to even start going to college. Granted, I have been piddling around for 8 years, but I am on a program now to get my bachelor's degree. I have various IT certifications and such which has helped me get to where I am, but I realized I just need to bite the bullet and do what I have to do to increase my chances of more success.
Now back to my point. EVERYONE needs to put the onus on themselves to succeed no matter where they start in life. I am glad Obama took a page out of the Bill Cosby book of accountability, because as a Bi-racial President that appeals to the black community, he could potentially influence many minorities to hold themselves responsible for their own future.
