Article by Karyn Allen

Maybe I don’t get it!!! In an article written by Manav Tanneeru and John Blake of www.cnn.com entitled “Obama Giving Some Black Republicans Heartburn”, I became extremely frustrated. As I began to read the article, the thing that stood out the most was the comment by Armstrong Williams. He is a nationally known radio talk show host, who happens to be a Republican. The story told of his dilemma of who he would vote for in this November’s upcoming election. In his own words, Williams’s main reason for voting for Barack Obama will be, “history brother, it cannot be anything else.” I understood his reasoning and actually respected his honesty on why he might jump the party lines and vote for a Democratic candidate.



As I continued to read the story, I embarked upon an iReport produced, edited and directed by Travers Johnson on www.cnn.com. The term ‘Hip Hop Republicans’ caught my immediate attention; I had to view the video to find out exactly what that term meant. There was a young man, Richard Ivory, who was the founder of the website www.HipHopRepublicans.com. He was confident in his views about why he was a supporter of the Republican Party. I was convinced that if I indulged in a debate with him, he could stand his ground as a Republican. He was confident in his answers as to why he made the decision to be a Republican; though I don’t agree with his views, I respect him as well.

Tiffany Shorter was the young lady also featured in that short video, but I wasn’t as convinced that she could stand her ground. Her answers to the questions seemed a bit out of touch, if you will. There was a disconnect somewhere between her reality and American reality. During Tiffany Shorter’s portion of the interview, she was asked about the war in Iraq and the Iraqi people. She naively answered that “we have an obligation to the Iraqi people and to ourselves.” Of course that answer is in reference to the current war in Iraq. What about our obligation to our citizens who come from all racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Unemployment and poverty don’t have a race, social class, or economic status; they both can paralyze anyone’s future. Where has she been? When was the last time she went to the inner cities of America where people are struggling or the rural farmlands where farmers are dealing with suffering crops? There are plants closing, because jobs were sent to other countries and taken from the American people. The Iraqi people…what about the American people?

She wasn’t born when African-Americans were not equal to other citizens of this country. They fought and died for her to even have the opportunity to live in a free country and voice her opinion. She stated that “Democrats aren’t listening” and that they “need to do more for the black community”. Is she listening to herself? What have the Republicans done to benefit her life? Maybe she was asleep during Hurricane Katrina, when the Republicans didn’t send any aide to the citizens (predominately African-Americans) of New Orleans. That city is still not back on track. A misguided Republican…maybe. Hip Hop…NOT!!! The only Hip Hop Artist that she could name that she liked was Mary J. Blige (shout out to Mary). Huh??? I say she’s CONFUSED!!!

***Karyn Allen is a contributing writer for STACKS Magazine.
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