Thursday, March 28, 2024

Tavis Smiley on Obama Presidency: ‘Black Americans Have Lost Ground’

Tavis-Smiley*Barack Obama has set his place in history with being the first black president, but according to Tavis Smiley, Michelle’s husband hasn’t done much for Black America in the eight years of his presidency.

In fact, Smiley went so far as to declare “Black Americans have lost ground” regarding their economic standing since Obama was elected.

“Sadly, and it pains me to say this, over the last decade Black folk, in the era of Obama have lost ground in every major economic category,” Smiley said during a recent appearance on HuffPost Live. “Not one, two or three [categories], but every major economic category, Black Americans have lost ground.”

Although he acknowledged the past decade of economic hardships and police brutality for African Americans, Smiley went to say that despite these tribulations, black people have continued to stand by Obama.

“Although Black folk have caught the most h— in the last 10 years, including being shot and killed in the streets by cops who keep getting away with that…Black people are still the most optimistic people, they’re still the most hopeful about their future. That has a lot to do with our faith, with our belief in each other, with our love for Barack Obama,” the PBS talk show host stated.

“We’ve been so caught up in the symbolism of the Obama presidency, we haven’t pressed as hard as we should on the substance of this presidency,” Smiley continued. “Black people and Black leaders have been too deferential to this president…because they know he was being piled on by the Republicans. They saw the obstructionism. They saw the name calling…the death threat…stuff that never happened with White presidents. So there’s a skepticism, if not a cynicism, about what’s happened to this president on his watch.”

So what say you? Does Smiley have a point with his opinion about the economic standing of black people during Obama’s time in office or have black people benefited more economically under the president’s watch?

Weigh in below:

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