Barack Obama is AWB: articulate while black -- a commentary from 1/25/07 (pre-Biden)

http://www.racialicious.com/2007/01/25/barack-obama-is-awb-articulate-while-black/

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Written by Philip Arthur Moore
January 25th, 2007 at 8:00 am

Barack Obama is AWB: articulate while black

by guest contributor Philip Arthur Moore, originally published at TheThink

Why do I keep finding news articles about Barack Obama that conspicuously mention how “articulate” he is?

Reality check: ‘Barry’ Obama attended Columbia University, Harvard Law School, and was the first ever black American to be elected president of the Harvard Law Review. His educational biography is impressive, to say the least, and when he stormed into the national spotlight at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, we should have taken note of how “articulate” Obama was with the English language (his native language, by the way) and moved on. Instead, writers, taking adjectives from the same play book and arranging them just slightly differently, are harping on how well Barack Obama can speak about as much as they harp on how well George W. Bush mangles the English language (which, incidentally, is also his native tongue).

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I could continue on with this game until 2008 comes, but I’d rather not. I simply would like to draw more attention to the gross overuse of the term “articulate” when Barack Obama’s name comes up in newspapers, television shows, or conversation.

For those of you who do not quite understand what is so problematic about the word “articulate” being used on Barack Obama, it would do you well to talk to a group of educated black Americans to understand how this seemingly harmless compliment can be perceived as something entirely different than a positive characterization of one’s oratory abilities.

Or, you can always enter in the phrase “you speak so well” +black into a Google search query to see what I’m talking about.

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http://www.racialicious.com/2007/01/25/barack-obama-is-awb-articulate-while-black/

He does have a clear message, and is not just a pretty face.

He's the straight-Democratic type ticket I'm looking for

I'd make Oprah look impoverished.

This is not a casual question. If someone takes your compliment as an insult, it's miserable for both parties. The person giving the compliment (assuming it was in good faith) will be devastated if the person getting the compliment takes it as an insult and accuses the other party of racism.

I am willing to give you Biden, not for the word "articulate" but for the word "clean" which I think was far worse and which made everything else he said sound patronizing and dismissive. But quite honestly, how should one compliment Obama, other than on his positions (being against the war, for example) without being considered a closet racist? I will be happy to read a serious answer with specific advice.

For the record, I heard Ed Schultz say this morning that General Casey was "not" articulate. This supports the contention that "articulate" is a word used in reference to politics, especially when someone is not typically in the limelight or is new to the political game in general (or to a particular level of involvement, like a presidential election.) For someone to call Senator Kennedy "articulate" might be insulting because he's been around for a long time and has proved himself time and time again, but to call Jim Webb "articulate" IS a compliment, since he is fairly new to the national political arena and gave an amazing rebuttal to the SOTU address, at a level unusual for a fairly new face, at least nationally. My take on the word "articulate" in reference to Obama is that he is being judged as a "new" national presence, not as a "black" one. (I am not counting Biden here because that whole quote was problematic.)

Seriously, check out his background. This guy doesn't have the depth of political background of many of the other candidates...But he is a brilliant speaker, he inspires us, that's why we like him. He's youthful, visionary, and I would use the word 'fresh' but people would probably complain that I am making reference to Will Smith.

http://www.marclamonthill.com/mlhblog/?p=2080

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Although I understand why someone would be upset at his use of “clean,” I’m a bit surprised that this has been the focus of the public criticism. After all, I seriously doubt that Biden thought that Carol Mosley Braun or Shirley Chisholm didn’t bathe regularly. In fact, I completely accept Biden’s explanation that he used the word “clean” to suggest that Obama was “fresh” and “sharp”. More important to me was Biden’s suggestion that Barack Obama is the first African American who is “articulate and bright and nice looking,” an observation that is not only racist and offensive, but flat-out absurd.

In order to understand the significance of Biden’s remark, we have to consider the way in which the word “articulate” is deployed by White Americans in relation to Black people. Every time I appear on a television program, without fail, I get an email from a White American telling me that they “can’t believe how articulate” or “well-spoken” I am. While I appreciate their gesture, I also understand that their compliment hinges upon a broader conception of Black people as inarticulate and often unintelligent. Given this context, Biden’s intended good will does not negate the patronizing and fundamentally racist character of his words.

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Biden didn't say Obama was the first African America who was articulate or bright.

I think he's too young to have been in that band.