The Price of Being President

Black farmers are increasing pressure on President Obama to get the federal government money owed them, following a settlement reached 11 years ago.
The farmers were promised $1.25 billion as the result of a suit filed charging discrimination from the federal government. Black farmers were consistently unable to get federal loans and were denied support from or of federal programs because of the color of their skin. Their allegations were ruled to be legitimate.
But to date, not a single farmer has received any money, and the black farmers are getting more and more frustrated. Their frustration is increased by their belief that the president is avoiding the problem because this is clearly a black issue, and they believe that Mr. Obama stays away from issues that might align him too closely with African Americans.
The 1997 case, Pigford vs. Glickman, was settled out of court, but, it seems, hundreds of thousands of black farmers missed a deadline to submit claims.
Mr. Obama reopened the case in 2008 when he was still a senator and in February of this year was able to broker a case for the $1.25 billion payout. But Congress missed a March 31 deadline to fund it and now another deadline to fund it is looming, May 30. The farmers are worried that the funding will not come and that Mr. Obama will not push for the funding to come.
Some might say give the president a break; there is a lot on his plate, and that is true. These farmers, however, have been waiting a long time for justice. Too often, the cry for justice from black people is put on the back burner; that it feels like an African American president is putting this issue on the back burner is grating the farmers’ emotions.
Mr. Obama is trying to position himself to win the 2012 presidential election and it has always seemed that in light of that, he has shied away from being “too black.”
But just as risky was pushing for health care reform. Mr. Obama undoubtedly lost a lot of supporters from those who thought he did too much and from those who think he did too little. That is politics. Immigration reform now looms in front of him, as does Wall Street reform. None of these issues are going to be easy to tackle, and yet he will.
It would be a grave mistake for him to even be perceived as having ignored the cries, pleas and needs of black farmers …just because he just doesn’t want to be perceived as being “too black.” Even if that perception is not true, the fact of the matter is that perception becomes truth. I sure hope the president pushes as hard for the farmers now as he did when he was a senator.
Otherwise, he runs the risk of being just another politician, a person who will do anything and say anything just to get elected. Surely, that cannot be the image or legacy he wants to leave.
Have a good week!