Obama Has Stirred Up Latent Racism and Bickering With His Chicago Self-Tribute Temple

As Obama Presidential Center comes closer to reality, tensions on race, class surface

When Bronwyn Nichols Lodato began pushing to prevent a portion of Chicago’s Midway Plaisance from being developed into a parking garage by the Obama Foundation, she never expected to be criticized as anti-black.

After all, she is an African-American woman who has lived in Hyde Park for more than a decade and is sensitive to both the city’s racial tensions and the needs of her neighbors.

It's the only non-sexual/scatalogical expletive-type word they know, and they are not rigorous in applying it correctly, or even nearly so.

The loaded language and accusations prompted Juanita Irizarry of Friends of the Parks to send out an email pleading that race not become a central issue in discussions about the center.

“Increasingly folks who are in favor of the Obama Center have stood up at meetings and sent out emails saying anyone who disagrees or asks questions — they must be white, they must not care about black people and they must not care about economic development on the South Side,” said Irizarry, who is Hispanic. “It’s not neatly broken down by black and white or neatly broken down by class. To make it all about race is inappropriate — that’s not what Obama stood for. There needs to be more nuance.”

Actually it is exactly what Obama stood for. Any difference one might have with him while he "Ruled" was racist, racist, racist. No nuance, just agitation against dissent and ultimately, whiteness.

Sure, wealthy and white allies have joined in the push for a benefits agreement, Garel said. But their interest was mainly in keeping the community comfortable for them, and they haven’t stood firm on rent control or a property tax freeze. He said many of them don’t show up for protests, carry signs in the blistering cold, donate or write letters of support.

“There are poor black people here and (outsiders) want us out and to move upper class black people in,” he said. “They’ve got the money to donate to causes and move in circles I can’t.”

Interesting. Poor blacks don't want NOT poor class blacks around. So the neighborhood should remain poor and black in its nature.