Wilmer J. Leon III
By Renarda A. Williams (aka Abari Sankofa)
Wilmer J. Leon, III, Ph.D. leaves
no stone unturned in the powerful set of essays in his book, Politics: Another Perspective: Commentary and Analysis on Race,
War, Ethics and the American Political Landscape in the Age of Obama
(AuthorHouse, Bloomington, MN, 2016).
Leon goes in depth in describing the
essence of what the president, and the country, tried to do, as for
counteracting the ideology of separatism. Unfortunately, he points out, there were
no strong countermeasures by liberals to eliminate a bi-liberal society
in America. Leon's analyses shows that factions of the Tea Party, ultra-right-wing conservatives,
and white supremacists who did everything to dismantle the openness
that America hoped to lead toward in the latter 2000s.
The
Empowerment Initiative Online Newsletter Blog interviewed Leon about Black America's expectations of former President Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King's real legacy, and the need for American communities, especially Black communities, to start empowering themselves and speaking out for social justice,
Leon said the greatest disappointment in Obama came from those with the most unrealistic expectations.
"There were a lot of people in this country that were looking for President Obama to be able to solve [all their problems]," he said. "Some of that was based upon things he said during his campaign. Other elements were things that people in the electorate placed upon him.
"There were a lot of people in this country that were looking for President Obama to be able to solve [all their problems]," he said. "Some of that was based upon things he said during his campaign. Other elements were things that people in the electorate placed upon him.
"But a lot of it is due to the fact that he
did not govern, nor did he seem to try to govern to his base. ... He never seemed to use the bully power of his pulpit to explain [matters] to his
base, or pressure his opposition. I think that there are a number of
elements [that explain] why there
was, in the minds of many people, that sense of disappointment."
Leon said he believes that Obama embraced a progressive liberal platform to try to give the impression that those were his politics.
"I think, as of this day, that he was a 'corporatist,' " Leon said. "The real beneficiaries of a lot of his policies have been corporations and banks. I think there were a lot of factors. I don't think that it was as simple as a lot of his supporters wanted it to be .... saying, 'You just don't understand what he was up against' " to critics.
He understands that
Sen. Mitch McConnell, along with just about everybody else in the Republican
Party, wanted Obama to fail, Leon said. But, he adds, he didn't really see
Obama using or challenging what he was up against; instead, he tried to negotiate with his opponents. He never seemed to understand that he couldn't negotiate with people who wanted to see him fail and were doing everything in their power to undermine him at every turn.
"Some of the people who worked in the administration told
me: 'I rarely saw him come out at press conferences and say: "Look ... this is what Mitch McConnell is doing
and this is what I am doing." It was rarely I heard him come out and
say: "John Boehner is saying this .... but here’s the real truth,' '" Leon said.
"Let
me give you a clearer example: I think that the biggest mistake that
the president made was at the early stage of the Affordable Health Care
Act. He should have gone to Kentucky --
right in McConnell's backyard -- and held a press conference and held a
town hall meeting. And explained to those people in Kentucky what McConnell and the other conservatives were trying to do. He should have said:
" 'Look, I know he is not telling you .... . Here is what I am trying to tell you. I know you don't like me ... . I am still your president. I'll do everything within my power to make sure everybody in this country has health care and entitlements. You don't have to vote for me ... . I am still working for you because I am still your president! And if Mitch McConnell still wants to oppose the ACA, you all need to go see him and ask him what is he giving you or providing for you that is better than what I am offering.'
"After Obama finished his speech, he should dropped the mic and walked off the stage. And then he should have gotten on Air Force
One and headed to South Carolina and [done] the same thing to Lindsay
Graham. He should have gone to Mississippi, Louisiana .... and done the
same thing to Bobby Jindal. He should have gone on a Southern Tour
entitled The Affordable Health Care Act Drop The Mic Tour. He
should have gone into all of those states' backyards and said what Franklin Roosevelt said: 'They may want the White House, but they will
have to come through me to get it! .... and I got the key in my back
pocket.' "
One essay in the book -- "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., It's Not the Dream; It's Our Nightmare" -- best drives home the point that it will take more than a Black man, or a woman such as Hillary Clinton, to turn America around.
Most people, Leon said, don’t read the first part of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech; they only read from the middle. The first part of the speech was an indictment of America ... an indictment during which King told listeners, "I am not advocating violence, but if you all don't pay attention, this stuff is going to go off!"
"All of that analysis is ignored, or not articulated," Leon said. "Dr. King has been [seen] as a dreamer. Dreamers are safe because they are asleep! But Dr. King was straight-up woke! He [called] America out!"
Another incendiary speech King gave -- "Why I Opposed the War In Vietnam" -- was the one that got him assassinated, Leon opines, and nobody really wants to talk about that.
"What you’ve got to do is combine that speech, where Dr. King stated 'war is an 'Enemy of the Poor,' with President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1960 Farewell Address To The Nation, [which] warned us against the Military Industrial Complex," he stated.
"What you’ve got to do is combine that speech, where Dr. King stated 'war is an 'Enemy of the Poor,' with President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1960 Farewell Address To The Nation, [which] warned us against the Military Industrial Complex," he stated.
Leon said someone on Facebook asked him the question: Who would he rather have, Malcolm X, or Martin?
"I wrote back, 'You must have the ying and the yang ... . You can't really pick one over the other one. One couldn't been as effective without the other," he said.
"I wrote back, 'You must have the ying and the yang ... . You can't really pick one over the other one. One couldn't been as effective without the other," he said.
Leon said Americans, as well as Black communities, need to empower themselves and protest against such injustices as voting rights suppression and police brutality.
"I think looking at [President] Donald Trump should be motivation to truly understand the need for grassroots organization. It is going to enable us to empower ourselves and develop the type of context that we are going to need to go forward," he stated.
"I think looking at [President] Donald Trump should be motivation to truly understand the need for grassroots organization. It is going to enable us to empower ourselves and develop the type of context that we are going to need to go forward," he stated.
"Our
politics will have to mature. Unfortunately, I think there are too many
people that are in the process, and they are not nearly as effective because they are so concerned about being race-neutral ... . These de-racialized politics are going to do our community a disservice."
