CLEVELAND - President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas, Texas 45 years ago today, an iconic moment in U.S. history that may have laid the groundwork for Barack Obama.
Seriously.
Kennedy was riding in a motorcade with Texas governor John Connally as well as First Lady Jacqueline and Connally's wife Nellie when the infamous "three shots" rang out.
The JFK assassination has been a tremendously popular topic for decades as numerous people have suspected that a conspiracy may have taken place that day. I'm not going to delve into that conversation right now.
Kennedy introduced a bill in June 1963 which asked for legislation that would "give all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public," but was gunned down before he could see it through. He had been seen as somewhat of an advocate for Blacks, who were still treated as second-class citizens during the early 1960's.
Upon his death, Lyndon B. Johnson took office and passed the Civil Rights Act in the summer of 1964. Johnson had far more leverage and experience in legislative politics as well as a better rapport with Congress than JFK which expedited the process.
With these newfound "rules for equality" for Blacks, other doors began to open. By the end of the '60's, interracial marriage was legalized. White supremacy, most notably the KKK became less of a threat and lynchings became less and less commonplace.
During the 1970's, Blacks were becoming more accepted and the word "colored" was used less and less in reference to them. Entertainers like Bill Cosby and Diahann Carroll became big stars as well as comic actors Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. Though some still portrayed buffoonish characters (such as Jimmie Walker's J.J. Evans on Good Times), Blacks were generally more empowered than say, a Sidney Poitier had been in the '50's and '60's in his film roles.
Disco, a popular form of Black music became all the rage later in the decade and singer Michael Jackson dominated the music industry during the 1980's while Cosby headlined television during the same time. Eddie Murphy, a raunchy and uproariously hilarious comic-actor at the time was possibly the biggest movie star of the decade. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey became a mainstay in homes all over America, something of a phenomenon that has only grown in the quarter century since.
Spike Lee, also black, became a seminal figure in filmmaking in the decade which undoubtedly paved the way for another cutting edge filmmaker: John Singleton. In pro sports, Magic Johnson was an enormous star in the '80's, but Michael Jordan took that to another level and became something of a deity and a global icon.
Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Don Cheadle, Forest Whitaker and Wesley Snipes have all been huge and mega-popular Hollywood actors for the past 15 years plus. Hip-Hop music has become a global juggernaut beginning humbly in the late '70's as something of a fad. By the mid-1990's, 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. had become, arguably the biggest names in popular music.
The past decade has seen the ascension of the hip-hop mogul. From Russell Simmons to Sean Combs to Damon Dash to Jay-Z, rap artists are not merely just artists.
They're executives.
Writer-Director Tyler Perry is arguably, the latest, most successful Black person to achieve incredible fame, popularity and wealth. Crossing racial boundaries, he's a genius amongst his peers.
And then there's Obama.
The biggest, by far example of how far Blacks have come is the recent election of Barack Obama. He will be our 44th president, the first ever black man to hold the nation's highest office. Is it fitting that this remarkably intelligent man was born in 1961, the same year Kennedy took office?
Ah, the symbolism.
I will always believe that America is still a very racist country. I won't be blinded and swept up in the Obama glow...where folks believe that his victory represents a changed America. Sure, the U.S. has made strides, but let us not forget -- the White man is still in charge. He allows us to sit at the table now, but we better mind our manners.
And remember that we're still in HIS house.
CLEVELAND - With the new year arriving tomorrow, I feel that it is a great time to reflect a little on the outgoing year of 2008. I made many individual strides in many of my endeavors, experienced great loss and tragedy and many superlative moments. But one person exemplified what 2008 was all about more than anyone else.
