What a speech. I thought what he said was particularly valid and very true.
Obama: ‘Our kids can’t all aspire to be the next LeBron or Lil Wayne’
In his young presidency, Obama has steered somewhat away from the subject of race. He has seemingly tried to be a “post-race” President. Last night at the NAACP’s 100th Anniversary dinner, the President tackled the subject head on. He spoke of the legacy of discrimination and of personal responsibility. Here are a few portions of his speech:
“Make no mistake: the pain of discrimination is still felt in America.”
“African-American students are lagging behind white classmates in reading and math â?? an achievement gap that is growing in states that once led the way on civil rights. Over half of all African-American students are dropping out of school in some places. There are overcrowded classrooms, crumbling schools, and corridors of shame in America filled with poor children – black, brown, and white alike.”
“Government programs alone won’t get our children to the promised land. We need a new mindset, a new set of attitudes â?? because one of the most durable and destructive legacies of discrimination is the way that we have internalized a sense of limitation; how so many in our community have come to expect so little of ourselves.”
Speaking of African American children he said this: “They might think they’ve got a pretty good jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can’t all aspire to be the next LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States.”
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By the way, on a seperate note, having a young black president after years of old white guys is awesome.
“They might think they got a pretty good flow” - could never imagine George II saying that one.