an open letter to hillary clinton

by Aaron Rodriguez

Published: February 29, 2008

Dear Mrs. Clinton,

At your most recent debate with Senator Obama you called upon him to not merely denounce Minister Farrakhan’s statements, but to flat out reject his support. Although your opponent attempted to handle the endorsement in a diplomatic fashion, you were adamant that denouncing was not sufficient. While I certainly understand why you made this push politically (and I suppose there was some sincerity in your concern), I feel that you don’t truly recognize the difficult position that Senator Obama is in. As much as it might pain you to hear this, your opponent is not as polarizing a figure as you are. He truly does have the potential to unite our divided nation, but he can only do this by walking a very tight rope. You see, any move he makes has the potential to alienate a particular demographic. This is not to say that he needs to pander to individual groups - far from it in fact. However, given his unique background and perspective, he is aware of something that a lot of people don’t seem to understand. There are multiple realities when it comes to America.

Before I begin, let me just say this: I find Minister Farrakhan’s statements regarding the Jewish religion to be reprehensible. However, I’m also aware that for a great many black people in this country, the Nation of Islam is a positive force. Have they made mistakes? Sure. Are they universally loved by all black people? Of course not. But they are certainly not considered to be crack pots within the black community. Simply put, the Nation of Islam has done a lot of good for black people since their inception. Barack Obama is aware of this. If he were to vehemently condemn Minister Farrakhan or the Nation of Islam, then he runs the risk of alienating a lot of black voters. This could potentially be a problem for someone who has had his “blackness” questioned on multiple occasions. In general, black voters have given Obama the benefit of the doubt. They do not expect him to focus entirely on black issues, if at all. They understand that he is not the second coming of Malcolm X, but at the very least they don’t expect him to demonize black institutions.

You, on the other hand, Mrs. Clinton, you do not have this problem. You exist outside of this reality. Most of your constituents exist outside of this reality. For you, the NOI is simply a hate group. You have the luxury of existing in a world where there is no deeper element to this organization because they haven’t done anything for the communities that support your candidacy. You get to exist entirely in the “mainstream culture.” Barack Obama has to straddle several cultural divides.

This is also why Senator Obama continually catches heat for attending Trinity United Church. The church is often characterized as “radical” because it adheres to a doctrine of black liberation theology. The media (Fox News in particular) has used this association as a scare tactic to somehow discredit Barack Obama. Although I’m not a Christian, I’ve been to Trinity on several occasions. I’m even close friends with an associate minister at the church. Thus, I feel compelled to speak out on what I feel is an unfair attack on the senator. What Fox News, and a lot of mainstream press call radical, is in reality mainstream for the black community. What goes on at Trinity is nothing more than an expression of faith that focuses on the struggles and issues unique to African-Americans. Considering the fact that Christianity has played a significant role in the history of blacks in America, both positively and negatively, I don’t see how this is all that surprising. If Barack Obama isn’t going to speak out on issues that specifically affect African-Americans, then he should at least be able to show that he still remains part of the black community as a private citizen.

So to close, Mrs. Clinton, I hope you realize how unfair you were at your latest debate. While I’m sure this campaign has put a tremendous amount of stress on your shoulders, I doubt you have to do the same balancing act that your opponent does. If he didn’t denounce Minister Farrakhan then many of his non-black supporters would turn away in disgust. Similarly, if he were to come down too harshly then he would run the risk of alienating an African-American community that has thus far given him the benefit of the doubt. I truly hope this has been enlightening for you. Good luck with the rest of your campaign.

Sincerely,
Aaron Rodriguez

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