Obama's Disingenuous Remarks Before the NAACP

President Obama spoke at the NAACP convention earlier this month. Here's an excerpt from his speech:
But make no mistake: The pain of discrimination is still felt in America. (Applause.) By African American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender. (Laughter.) By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. (Applause.) By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their God. (Applause.) By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights. (Applause.)

All four of the claims made in the preceding paragraph are disingenuous, for different reasons.

First of all, it's hypocritical for Obama to condemn (white) Americans for denying rights to gays and viewing Muslims with suspicion, given that Obama himself opposes gay marriage and Muslim supporters of his were barred from appearing with him on camera at campaign stops in 2008.

Obama's second point, about Latinos feeling unwelcome in their own country, seems artfully vague: it's unclear whether he's referring to the Latinos who are already American citizens or the 12+ million illegal alien Latinos who will become citizens if an amnesty bill passes.

The topic of the remainder of this post is Obama's first claim: "The pain of discrimination is still felt in America... By African American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender."

In fact, a study released in 2005 by the Census Bureau found that black women with a Bachelor's degree earn nearly 9% more than similarly educated white women. The average salary for a black woman is $41,100 - vs. $37,800 for a white woman.

It's true, on average black women earn less than white men. However, it's disingenuous for Obama to assert, without evidence, that the pay gap between white men and black women is the result of discrimination, while ignoring the inconvenient fact that black women out-earn white women.

Notice the double standard at work here. Disparities in achievement that favor whites are unquestionably viewed as the result of racism and discrimination; disparities that favor blacks aren't.

Filmmaker Craig Bodeker explores this disconnect in his most recent film, A Conversation About Race.

Bodeker interviewed a number of people, black and white, who had no problem in stating there are certain fields where black people excel due to their skill (e.g. basketball). Yet when these same people were asked to name an area where white people excel due to their skill, they couldn't think of one.

Bodeker hammers the disconnect: in areas where people of color excel, we credit them for their capabilities; in areas where white people excel, we condemn them for their racism.












President Obama speaks at the NAACP Convention in Cincinnati on July 13, 2009.