*Attorney and Film Producer Antonio Moore wasn’t too high on T.I.’s recent Open Letter to President Obama. stating “The rapper TI.’s Open Letter to President Barack Obama in the NY Times proves everything in my recent article. From the excessive praise of the individual first family, to the trope about the Pres. coming from the streets of Chicago, and most importantly the entire love of symbolism without a singular mention of policy. Despite what T.I. incorrectly believes we did not “fail” President Obama. He failed to become the candidate of change he told us he was in 08. The letter by T.I. is so simple, and so utterly blank. Nothing in this letter makes sense factually. Its like an emotional response to a political figure, ahhh but TI also sees Obama like another Celebrity. “
Moore’s recent piece titled “Obama’s Celebrity Overshadowed Black America’s Struggle” makes the clear argument that there was more than meets the eye to President Barack Obama.
Excerpt: President Obama’s rise happened in the shadow of The Cosby Show, relied on the praise of Jay-Z, and quite literally started through the very arms of Oprah Winfrey. A nation that had been fans of Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson, quickly became enamored with the man known as Barack Obama. The cult of celebrity was our lens for normalizing Obama’s differences, and ultimately the way we all made him just like us. …
Playing on the tropes about black life President Obama reportedly told Israel’s Prime Minister “I’m the African-American son of a single mother, and I live here, in this house. I live in the White House.” What he failed to also tell the world leader is that he had inherited $500,000 in stock from his white grandmother due to what we often frame as white privilege, and that he likely received legacy admission access to Harvard because his father had received a master’s degree in economics from the school in 1965.It is quite a statement to look back and realize that it is during the tenure of our first black president that we experienced record expansion in the black and white wealth gap, and just as disastrous growth in black poverty. In America, there is one President Obama, and there are a few hundred-basketball players, but there are over 600,000 black men incarcerated, and in President Obama’s own home state of Illinois nearly half of all young black men in Chicago are out of work, or out of school.
In addition Moore notes when judging the rapper’s knowledge about politics, particular attention should be paid to T.I.’s statements about women during the most recent election. When the rapper gave reason for his hesitancy in supporting Clinton in an interview with DJ Whoo Kid he stated
Quote from Rapper TI on Hillary Clinton: “Not to be sexist but, I can’t vote for the leader of the free world to be a woman. Just because, every other position that exists, I think a woman could do well. But the president? It’s kinda like, I just know that women make rash decisions emotionally – they make very permanent, cemented decisions – and then later, it’s kind of like it didn’t happen, or they didn’t mean for it to happen. And I sure would hate to just set off a nuke. [Other leaders] will not be able to negotiate the right kinds of foreign policy; the world ain’t ready yet. I think you might be able to [get] the Loch Ness Monster elected before you could [get a woman].”
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
