The Black State of the Union (SOBU)

Francis Fukuyama declared the end of the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union the “end of history”.

Interesting, a Cold War between the historical population of the United States of America and Black people existed until January 20, 2009. Pre-Obama America was defeated upon that glorious day and Black people finally had their Ozymandias-in-Chief - Mein Obama - the General Zod of Black America.

Would the historic election of a Black man to the whitest office in the world – The Oval Office - finally drive a stake through the vicious and inherently racist heart of white America and be enough to prove to Black Americans that Pre-Obama America had declared a détente and capitulated to change and hope?

Well, no. Black people find the current state of America awash in the same racism that stained the Pre-Obama America era with a tarnish no amount groveling could ever remove. You see, Black people will never be happy until every institution in America has a Black person in charge.

Black head coaches for every NFL franchise; Black CEOs for every Fortune 500 company; Black presidents for every college and university, public or private; and of course, Black senators representing all 50 states in the union. To Black people, only when these prerequisites are achieved will the true Cold War end, for the collectivist desire to get back at white people for centuries of injustice – real or imagined – can only occur when all power is bequeathed to Black people.

Thus, the maddening response to the end of The Black State of the Union or the State of the Black Union (SOBU):

The State of the Black Union (SOBU) symposium has been one of the most anticipated events for millions of African Americans during the last decade, but after 10 years of conversations, founder Tavis Smiley has announced the end of the series.

"When we started SOBU there was only one Black nationally-syndicated radio show and only one Black television network. Ten years ago, there were just a scant few African Americans offering political commentary in mainstream media.

Over the years, the landscape has changed tremendously with multiple radio shows, television networks and the explosion of commentary in the blogosphere," Smiley said.

"While I still think there is comparatively speaking a paucity of Black commentary in the mainstream, there are currently many more avenues available for discourse on issues impacting African Americans. Ten years later, Black folk no longer have to wait for SOBU in February to hear issues that matter to them being discussed by them.”

Not everyone understood the importance of the SOBU, but the value can’t be understated. It offered Black people the chance to hear grievances aired by leaders in their community, instead of the Disingenuous White Liberal leader who loves getting Black votes but forgets them once in office.

The problem though, is the current Black State of the Union, or The SOBU – not be confused with FUBU – should really read FUBAR, for like Haiti, Black people in America find themselves in a situation that only SBPDL dares point out:

A hundred and fifty years ago, Charles Dickens opened "A Tale of Two Cities" with the now-famous phrase: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...

Those words resonated with me recently while contemplating the impact of the Obama presidency on blacks in America. So far, it's been mixed. Blacks are living a tale of two Americas--one of the ascension of the first black president with the cultural capital that accrues; the other of a collapsing quality of life and amplified racial tensions, while supporting a president who is loath to even acknowledge their pain, let alone commiserate in it. This has had a sobering effect on blacks. According to a Nov. 9 report from Gallup, last summer 23 percent of blacks thought that race relations would get a lot better with the election of Obama. Now less than half that percentage says that things have actually gotten a lot better.

The racial animosity that Obama's election has stirred up may have contributed to a rallying effect among blacks. According to a Gallup report published on Nov. 24, Obama's approval rating among whites has dropped to 39 percent, but among blacks it remains above 90 percent.

Also, this hasn't exactly been a good year for black men in the news. Plaxico Burress was locked up for accidentally shooting off a gun in a club. Henry Louis Gates Jr. was locked up for intentionally shooting off his mouth at his own home. And Michael Jackson died after being shot full of propofol. Chris Brown brutally beat Rihanna. Former Representative William Jefferson was convicted. And most recently, the "personal failings" of Tiger Woods portray him as an alley cat. Meanwhile, the most critically acclaimed black movie of the year, "Precious," features a black man who rapes and twice impregnates his own daughter. Rooting for the president feels like a nice counterbalance.”

2009 is simultaneously the year that Black people saw the ascension of a Black person to the White House, a blow that some believed would eradicate Pre-Obama America forever, and yet, the seemingly universal collapse in all things Black. His election could ultimately prove to be Pyrrhic victory in the Cold War, as 2009 also saw the return of a Black Michael Jackson; Tiger Woods fall dramatic from grace; and the augmenting of those who can see.

Consider the current state of Black employment, a problem of Titanic proportions that continues to run into iceberg after iceberg:

Joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old black men has reached Great Depression proportions -- 34.5 percent in October, more than three times the rate for the general U.S. population…

Young black women have an unemployment rate of 26.5 percent, while the rate for all 16-to-24-year-old women is 15.4 percent…

The Obama administration is on a tightrope, balancing the desire to spend billions more dollars to create jobs without adding to the $1.4 trillion national deficit.”

An SBPDL suggestion: send all unemployed Black people to Haiti to assist in the cleanup and rebuilding of that island nation.

Looking deeper into the SOBU only further amplifies the unpleasant reality of FUBAR for the Black community, as a Black Depression is affecting Black families and Black people searching for work which shows no signs of letting up:

“This is accelerating an already steady decline in the once high-paying manufacturing sector for black workers. The Center for Economic and Policy Research estimates that the share of African-Americans working in manufacturing declined from 23.9 percent in 1979 to 9.8 percent in 2007, the highest drop of any group.”

The Congressional Black Caucus is stepping in to point out the true SOBU to Mein Obama, but have found the president less than receptive to their demands:

Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members on Wednesday criticized the Obama administration for not doing enough to help African-Americans through the bleak economy.

The CBC efforts underscore the deep anxiety lawmakers have as they face an economy witnessing the highest national unemployment rate in a generation. The unemployment rate for African-Americans is 15.7 percent, compared to the national rate of 10.2 percent.

The CBC members laid out a series of policies they would like to see enacted: efforts to reduce foreclosures, including through principal write-downs; better access to credit for African-American-owned auto dealerships; more aid to small and community banks that lend to African-Americans; and more federal money going to support ad buys in minority radio stations and newspapers.

Jen Psaki, White House spokeswoman, said the administration shares the concerns raised by the CBC members.

“We have not been informed of the reasoning behind their decision not to vote on the bill, but we continue to think it is important to move financial reform forward to prevent future crises from damaging our economy and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans, including African-Americans,” Psaki said in a statement.”

Black people were on the verge of losing power in Atlanta, the capital of Black America, and might also lose power in New Orleans, a city renowned for its ability to produce Haitian-esque violence as well as jazz.

Black run cities like Detroit and Baltimore continue to be home to corruption and never-ending misery and Clayton County, a majority Black suburban county of Atlanta, finds itself the poster child of life under Black rule.

A cursory glance at SBPDL and our archives will present a bleak picture that resembles the one Dorian Gray tried to hide from sight, but a picture that only hate facts can properly explain.

The Black State of the Union or SOBU isn’t pretty, and really, shows no signs of improving. Tonight, Mein Obama gives the State of the Union address to the American people and Black people, who still support him with a 90 percent approval rate, will watch closely to see if they really are FUBAR.

For sometimes life imitates art, and much like movies with Black Presidents of the United States, life in 2010 America is headed to a disaster of epic proportions.

Stuff Black People Don’t Like includes the Black State of the Union or SOBU as the prophecy of Wanda Sykes is nearing true. That half-white dude in the office is leading Black America into troubled waters and it’s obvious that Mein Obama hasn’t a clue has to righting the ships course.

Bill Cosby pointed out how Black America lost to the White man. A glance at SBPDL’s archives provide a crash-course in the reality of life for all Americans in 2010, and a glimpse at to all that we lost and that we’ve won.

The SOBU for 2010 is simply one that precious few words are needed to describe: FUBAR.

The “end of history” is nowhere near and SBPDL will continue to chronicle the State of the Black Union (SOBU) daily, because so few others dare discuss Black people outside of athletics. And that’s the only source of positive news for Black people… just ask Tiger Woods.