By Al Young
Special to TheBlackHour.com
Ishmael Reed will read from and discuss his latest book, BARACK OBAMA AND THE JIM CROW MEDIA: The Return of the Nigger Breakers, on Tuesday, November 23 at the Black Dot Cafe in West Oakland.
Under slavery, 'nigger breakers' had the job of destroying the spirits of tough black men by whatever means necessary. At age 15, Frederick Douglass was sold to Edward Covey who had the mandate to break him. Ishmael Reed makes the case that President Barack Obama is being assailed by 20th-Century descendants of Covey.
In a series of essays written during the 2008 primaries and after Obama’s election, Reed describes how Obama’s opponents and some supposed allies use modern reincarnations of those same ugly demons to break him. What’s more, statements and alliances he made during the campaign and in office have made him easy prey. A book sale will follow the reading.
Poet Al Young is California's Poet Laureate.
Ishmael Reed Book Reading in Oakland - Barack Obama and the Jim Croww Media
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Black Hour
