Barack Obama and white women?
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
So apparently this little number is making the rounds via email forwards (hat tip to Latoya). Does anyone else find it a bit odd? Yes, we know Obama has dated white women in the past, but he’s been happily married to a black woman for ages now, and I haven’t heard whisperings of any extramarital dalliances. Why are people fixating on him and white women? It doesn’t make much sense to me.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Rob wrote:
Sounds like an attempt to defame him and make him look threatening to the white male majority.
It’s always been said that the most dangerous thing to white men is a well educated black man. Now, they’re taking it one step further.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 9:04 am ¶
Ashley K. Edwards wrote:
Wow! I like to think that very little can shock me anymore, but the minute I think I’ve reaffirmed that something comes outta the blue and throws me a curve ball.
Honestly, does it matter if he prefers white women or black women? As long as he’s faithful I think that’s all we should be concerned with.
Next we’ll hear that Hillary Clinton only likes to date black women. Gee…..
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 9:31 am ¶
dcase wrote:
Personally, I think it is partly aimed at white males but I believe that the real intent here is to reduce him in the eyes of black women. It is unfortunate, but there is a non-negligible subset of black women (especially among the educated) that would be turned away if they knew he had been involved with white women. Since this is the bulk of the black electorate, you can reduce his support pretty quick in the community by pissing black women off especially if many are on the fence between Clinton and Obama.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 9:41 am ¶
Chris wrote:
I am not really surprise about this. Look what happen to Harold Ford in Tennessee with the call me ad. I don’t expect the real nasty race baiting stuff to show up until the national election, if Barack wins the Democratic Party Presidential nomination.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 10:02 am ¶
Brad wrote:
Geez how pathetic can you get? The election not even a year away and already this bullshit is happening.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 10:05 am ¶
Mordecai wrote:
This is simply vile. Who ever created this, and whoever views this, should be told that the “black male getting white women” epithet was utilyzed as far back as the Confederacy to justify slavery of the “nigger beast” and forming the Confereate States of America.
It is a disgrace to humankind and to God. This is not funny, this is not a “think piece,” it’s pure evil, designed to perpetuate fear and servitude of the black male. It is the equivalent of Nazi/Arian propaganda. It is simply unacceptable behavior.
Do not stand for it, joke about it, or even shake your head in playful disgust. Confront it boldly and work to erradicate it. It is our duty as humans.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 10:34 am ¶
Lisa wrote:
I view this as I do when people yell Chinese-sounding verbalisms at me — it’s just another one of those random things that the pubescent of mind put out to justify their otherwise questionable life experience (ie, to get a laugh at another’s expense, to feel like they have marginalized the other).
Although things like this are intended to reduce the respect of whoever is targeted, I feel that it is actually no more effective nowadays than a pebble in the road, since we have seen stuff like this over and over and over. . . although it is slightly annoying.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 11:09 am ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
I think dcase has a point.
That kind of allegation would turn a lot of black women off to voting for him. It is supposed to be a joke, but…wow…
I got this forwarded to me at work (isn’t that great?)
It was forwarded to me by another black coworker, who asked me to note who sent it to him. The person who passed the forward on was another white coworker - and strangely, one noted for being very politically aware and active in the Democratic party.
Still mulling it over…
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 11:29 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Did the same person who did this perchance work on a little congressional race in Tennessee?
*cue blonde bimbo* Barack! Call me!
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 11:55 am ¶
eric wrote:
If you get this in your email reply to the sender with a picture of his mother…. who was white…
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 1:14 pm ¶
radmila wrote:
Honestly, who cares?
Except racists, and people who have an ax to grind about interracial relationships.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 1:33 pm ¶
FEB wrote:
A successful handsome black man lusting after white women- what other stereotype could possibly be more provocative to white men and black women?
Whoever did this racist montage of Obama is a real genius of psychological manipulation. Utterly despicable.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 1:41 pm ¶
Reen wrote:
I don’t really see why him dating a white woman would be so scandalous, his father did the same thing.
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 1:46 pm ¶
berrybrowne wrote:
can i make a confession? the only reason i’m not part of that non-negligible subset of black women that would be turned off by that “joke” is because i expect this and more, from now until the election. he’s had my vote on lock since he decided to run. sorry, there’s something visceral about it…
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 1:57 pm ¶
Ailurophile wrote:
What a transparent attempt at a smear campaign. I agree with those who said someone (or someones) is trying to discredit Obama with white men and black women (probably mostly the former, to be honest). I surmise this is targeting the evangelical voters - Obama has played up his own religiosity in order to appeal to them as well as take back religion from the Repubs. In any case, a pox on the house of whoever thought this one up.
Interesting how it’s the Republicans - the party of famblee values - who are presenting this array of divorced and/or adulterous candidates - look at Rudy Giuliani’s checkered past. Meanwhile, those famblee-hating libruls Obama and Edwards are, as far as we know, solid family men, happily married, great dads, etc. Even the Clintons - yes, Bill cheated, but they stayed married and seem to have been terrific parents. So who has the real “family values”, hmmm?
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 7:48 pm ¶
Sabrina wrote:
Why are they fixating on his race, period? Just shows you that there are still some people who are not “ready” for a person of color in the Oval Office. Some folks need to grow up
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 10:54 pm ¶
Mrs. J wrote:
This won’t work. One of the first reasons sisters began singing his praises in the first place was because of his faithfulness to Michelle.
If she’s not worried, nobody needs to be.
Posted 06 Apr 2007 at 12:09 am ¶
Undercover Black Man wrote:
No one has mentioned the intertextuality which — giving the jokers the benefit of the doubt — explains the punch line. The first thing I thought of when I saw this was “Blazing Saddles,” in which Cleavon Little says the mocking line, “Where all the white women at?” to bait some Klansmen.
I’m willing to accept this as a satire on the hangups surrounding the “black sexual menace,” and not an endorsement of the validity of the “black sexual menace.” Now the Harold Ford thing… that was a smear.
Posted 07 Apr 2007 at 12:58 am ¶
s wrote:
Carmen, now you KNOW that successful black men are expected to (in no order) date/showoff/screw/spoil/impregnate/marry white women. AND, what other weapon could be used to divide the black community regarding his vote? This drama is second to none in the black community, far above crime, poverty, and deadbeat baby daddies. It’s probably a shocker to people that he has a black wife. That’s impossible. There HAS TO BE a white woman in the mix SOMEWHERE! Black men can’t be fulfilled with just a black woman. No man can. (according to the sterotype)
Why his dating patterns matter in his campaign - beats me!
FEB - provocative for white men and black women? Here we go…
Posted 07 Apr 2007 at 6:10 pm ¶
Colin wrote:
Even if it is satire, it’s a poor attempt that, from my perspective, fails to make the satirical point clear. It seems more like it’s mocking Barack Obama’s book, mocking his past of dating white women, and mocking of his African American heritage, even if the intent is satire.
Posted 07 Apr 2007 at 7:16 pm ¶
Bohemian Writer wrote:
*sigh* lawd, can we just let the man live?
Posted 08 Apr 2007 at 6:15 pm ¶
Colin wrote:
He’s running for President of the United States, so NO.
Posted 08 Apr 2007 at 10:42 pm ¶
A person wrote:
So what? His campaign is essentially about his race as an underlying theme since he is an upper-class Harvard alumni with a very moderate platform. Michael Jackson is blacker than this fool. If Obama argued for the working class as much as Bill Richardson, then I’d denounce this stupid image. Until then, he can kiss my ass.
Posted 12 Apr 2007 at 2:23 am ¶
black chic wrote:
This is soooo silly. Even if he was dating a white woman, or for that matter was married to one or was with one now instead of his current wife, it doesnt matter. He is half white ya know. And even if he wasnt its 2007 for goodness sake, people should be with whoever they like. I also want to disagree with the previous poster who said that a majority of educated black women would be turned off by this. What makes you think that, being as I like to see myself as an educated black woman, I can say that you have no clue what youre talking about. The women that you are thinking about are a vocal minority, not the majority. I always thought that women who were bothered by interracial relationships were just jealous and should learn to love themselves more. And I would hope that everyone, including us black gals, see this for what it is, just a way to try to discredit him, give black women some credit!
Posted 27 Jun 2007 at 8:06 pm ¶
Tk wrote:
This is the same thing that happened to Harold Ford when running for his second term as a Tennesee congressman. There was an ad of a Hot white woman on a cell phone and the caption said “Call me Harold”… He lost the race
Posted 09 Aug 2008 at 7:23 am ¶