President Barack Obama, Parliament, P-Funk & the Chocolate City Reality

“Uh, what’s happening CC?
They still call it the White House
But that’s a temporary condition, too.
Can you dig it, CC?”
(Lyrics from Parliament’s Chocolate City LP)

Back in 1975 when George Clinton and the P-Funk band Parliament released Chocolate City, a tongue in cheek musical parody on the African American population majority of Washington, D.C. it is doubtful if any of those listeners thought a black man would ascend to this nation’s highest office.

“There’s a lot of chocolate cities, around
We’ve got Newark, we’ve got Gary
Somebody told me we got L.A.
And we’re working on Atlanta
But you’re the capital, CC”
(Lyrics from Parliament’s Chocolate City LP)

No doubt, today’s Hip Hop youth prone to believing conspiracies such as Tupac still being alive are probably declaring that the often sampled, 67-year old, multi-colored hair George Clinton is a prophet of sorts. Chocolate City would go on to reach number 18 on the Billboard soul LP charts in 1975 and later hit #91 on the album charts. “Chocolate City”, the title track and first single, reached #24 on the black chart and #94 on the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to Parliament’s use of the moniker Chocolate City local D.C. Radio One’s flagship station WOL-AM regularly referred to D.C. as “chocolate city” because of the preponderance of African Americans making up the capital city’s population.

“Hey, CC!
They say your jivin’ game, it can’t be changed
But on the positive side,
You’re my piece of the rock
And I love you, CC.
Can you dig it?”
(Lyrics from Parliament’s Chocolate City LP)

The year 1975 was an eventful, if not sometimes turbulent one, in the U.S. and abroad. John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were found guilty in the Watergate cover-up and sentenced from 30 months to 8 years in jail; the South Vietnamese surrender Saigon and the remaining American POWs are evacuated back to the United States effectively ending the Vietnam War; President Gerald Ford escapes two assassination attempts in one month; home videotape systems (VCRs) are developed in Japan by Sony (Betamax) and Matsushita (VHS); the Altair home computer kit allows consumers to build and program their own personal computers; Saturday Night Live premieres on NBC; the current median household income (in current dollars) is $11,800; a first class stamp is 10-cents and the federal debt is $541.9 billion.

“Hey, uh, we didn’t get our forty acres and a mule
But we did get you, CC, heh, yeah
Gainin’ on ya
Movin’ in and around ya
God bless CC and its vanilla suburbs”
(Lyrics from Parliament’s Chocolate City LP)

This particular year also was cause for African Americans to celebrate small but important gains: Arthur Ashe becomes the first African American to wins the British Men’s Singles at Wimbledon; the Morehouse School of Medicine (Atlanta) becomes the only black medical school established in the United States in the 20th Century; General Daniel “Chappie” James of the Air Force becomes the first African American four star general; The first black owned television station, WGPR, begins broadcasting in Detroit, and Frank Robinson becomes the first black Major League Baseball manager when he takes over the Cleveland Indians.

“Ah, blood to blood
Ah, players to ladies
The last percentage count was eighty
You don’t need the bullet when you got the ballot
Are you up for the downstroke, CC?
Chocolate city
Are you with me out there?”
(Lyrics from Parliament’s Chocolate City LP)

In retrospect the iconoclastic cover art stands out even more so, because it displays images of the United States Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial in the form of a milk chocolate medallion. The trickster-musician Clinton and his sidekick co-writers (Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins) are probably winking at one another in a knowing way–particularly since the mainstream press and the Obama cabinet have patterned the President elect as a 21st century reincarnation of the great emancipator Abraham Lincoln.

When the second executive order of the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Honest Abe in 1863, it is highly likely that even he believed (or wanted) a tall, rangy, Senator of African ancestry with a non-Anglo name from his home state of Illinois, would in a little over 135 years become the President of the United States.

“And when they come to march on ya
Tell ‘em to make sure they got their James Brown pass
And don’t be surprised if Ali is in the White House
Reverend Ike, Secretary of the Treasure
Richard Pryor, Minister of Education
Stevie Wonder, Secretary of FINE arts
And Miss Aretha Franklin, the First Lady
Are you out there, CC?”
(Lyrics from Parliament’s Chocolate City LP)

Maybe George Clinton and crew in their own cosmic, otherworldly, way knew something in 1975 that the rest of us Americans are only understanding today.

“A chocolate city is no dream
It’s my piece of the rock and I dig you, CC”
(Lyrics from Parliament’s Chocolate City LP)

Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama: Old Guard Civil Rights Envy and the Conundrum of Post Modern American Politics

“A setting sun gives off no heat”
—Hayward L. Oubre, visual artist

Chicago and the Chicago political scene have long been said to be the playground of an assortment of unsavory politicians, corrupt and crooked public officials, shady hustlers and Mafioso old school gangsters (e.g. Sam Giancana, Al Capone, Bugs Moran) and their modern day prodigy (crews that go by names like Latin Kings, Vice Lords and Gangster Disciples). However, the recent comments whispered by aging Civil rights leader and longtime activist Rev. Jesse Jackson into an open microphone, to another guest on a Fox network program, to castrate presidential hopeful Barack Obama was the epitome of Windy City gangsterism.

Far from being a simple case of individual jealousy between individuals, the Obama/Jackson differences signify a greater issue: generational disconnect and ego starvation. Age and experiences tend to affect the viewpoint of the human being. Across the United States and the world, as they always have, youth are re-defining their realities, perspectives, vantage points and world views via their music, clothing, mores, technological advancements etc. The Baby Boomer, Civil Rights and Anti-Vietnam War Homo-sapiens scarcely understand their text messaging, computer saavy offspring.

For the Rev. Jackson and his Civil Rights era cronies Barack Obama’s theme of non-racialist collaboration, racial reconciliation and content of character seems to threaten their hegemony as the leader/spokesmen of African Americans and lower class Americans; equally it could cut into the lucrative race-based lectures, seminars and Shakedowns that have been said to benefit Rev. Jackson and friends. Of course this also applies to those on the opposite side (e.g. Rush Limbaugh, David Horowitz, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly et. al) that have benefited financially from playing up racial differences and immigration issues.

For both sides (Conservative and Liberal) to expect today’s youth demographic to buy into their out of date manifestos and well worn truths, is analogous to the U.S. military in Iraq launching a ground offensive using Revolutionary War era muskets.

Amazingly, Rev. Jackson’s comments on Fox news that Obama was “talking down to black people” based on the latter’s Fathers Day sermon at a church, in which he asked African American men to be more responsible, seemed to be along the lines of comedia Bill Cosby’s much debated comments made in 2004 at an NAACP convention. Incidentally, several months later in July 2004, Jackson was on the stage beside Cosby at a fundraiser dinner for Jackson’s Rainbow/Push Coalition. At that time according to media sources Jackson defended a worked up and ranting Cosby by saying: “Bill is saying lets fight the right fight, lets level the playing field…drunk people can’t do that, illiterate people can’t do that.” Apparently Cosby’s ability to put large sums of money into the Reverend’s coffers far outweighed any comments the Cos had made that some took to be offensive and degrading when it came to African Americans.

Interestingly enough, for all of the Group Think-ism about black radicalism and extremism history points out the fact that African Americans, on the whole, tend to be pretty conservative when it comes to most issues of personal behavior. Even the Chicago based raconteur and Nation of Islam minister Louis Farrakhan seems to be speaking the same type of ultra-conservative, self-help message that sounds similar, at times, to that of Pat Buchanan, Jerry Falwell and Rush Limbaugh.

Many of the Clinton supported Old Guard Civil Rights activists like John Lewis and Andrew Young were not supporters of Obama during the Democratic primaries–(actually at times both were greater detractors than ardent Hillary supporters)–and attempted to rally African Americans behind Hillary Clinton, whose husband Bill was known to give numerous insider perks to certain people during his presidential days. The often beat up (during the Civil Rights protests and Freedom Rides) John Lewis eventually recanted his support for Hillary after black Georgians made overtures that he (Lewis) would not receive their electoral support in the future. The congressman and Super Delegate later retracted his support for Hillary and sputtered a new position: “The peoples of the 5th district have spoken!” Translation: Most of you (my constituents) are on the Obama change wagon, so I guess I might as well get with the program. His buddy in “Civil Rights redneck beat downs,” Martin Luther King, Jr. confidant, former Atlanta mayor and Nigerian oil speculator Andrew Young was also heavily criticized by African American youth and hip hop generationalists that were born many, many years after the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill for his “bought and paid” attitude.

At the core of these generational divides is ego and what author Charles Johnson says may be the “end of the black American narrative“. Or rather, according to Obama and todays color-blind youth, the forging of a new postmodern racial construct may not be in line with Rev. Jackson and the Old Guard Civil Rights outlook. Following a protest march in the nations capital several years ago, one seasoned Harlem activist was said to have commented to a local newspaper: “Well, they (the opposition and source of the protest) have something for marching feet these days–Scholl’s foot pads.”

Charles Johnson’s narrative revision is not applicable to Rev. Jackson, Al Sharpton and his comrades alone, but also goes for Cold War ludites, rabid southern segregationists and that particular clique of citizenry that worship Rush Limbaugh, Jesse Helms and Ann Coulter as the coming of Jesus Christ. Problems of war, economic demise, food shortages and climate/ecological upheaval seem to be the issues on the radar of today’s youth. Thus, the left and right rhetoric and ideologies, represented in the worldviews of Jesse Jackson and Jesse Helms, appear more increasingly as dinosaur fossils to youth seeking middle ground and equitable solutions.

It certainly appears as though the rise of Obama, and other post Civil Rights babes threatens the affluence of the older “shakedown” activists and the legitimate politicians, conscious clergyman and well-meaning change agents still ensconced in a mythical past. As some black youth have contended, “we appreciate and revere the contributions made by Rev. Jackson and the older Civil Rights leaders, but this is a new day.”

Indeed it is. Indeed it is.