OIA! Interviews Missouri State Senator Maida Coleman

Missouri State Senator Maida Coleman

St. Louis, Missouri had the largest turnout for Obama in the United States before election day, when a crowd of 100,000 people came to watch the man speak.

On Friday, January 16, Obama IS America! had the chance to sit down and talk with Missouri State Senator Maida Coleman.

The discussion centered on race relations, American identity, some effects of the recession on the people of Missouri, Ms. Coleman's run for mayor of St. Louis, and the scandal surrounding the mayoral race.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

Obama IS America! interview questions for Missouri State Senator Maida Coleman:

1. Background question: Can you give us a brief feel of what race relations in Missouri, and particularly St. Louis are like from your perspective, and perhaps include some historical background that can place these relationships in context?
2. How did you get involved in politics, and what has it been like to be a Senator as a woman of African American heritage?
3. What has been the impact of the recession so far on the people of Missouri?
4. Are you looking forward to an Obama Presidency?
5. As a politician, and as a Black politician, what did Obama’s message of change mean for you?
6. What are your thoughts on the meaning of American culture and identity?
7. I have heard that Francis Slay, the current mayor of St. Louis is much disliked by the African American community. Can you give us some background as to why this may be?
8. Can you briefly tell us who Denise Watson Wesley Coleman is, and how is she significant to you and your run for office of the Mayor?
9. Why are you running for office?
10. If by the end of your first term as Mayor you could see 3 major changes for the better happen in the City of St. Louis, what would they be?
11. How do you think that you and your work will impact the future of American history and culture?

American Pimp Talk

At the end of the following video, there is a young woman with a bullhorn shouting:

EQUAL RIGHTS  EQUAL RIGHTS  EQUAL RIGHTS

This woman led a group of about 500 protesters down Santa Monica Blvd., through Beverly Hills, and down the Sunset Strip, shouting, chanting, and protesting inequality.  She was just one person, not connected to the No on 8 campaign, who believed deeply in something and decided to make a change and make an impact.  She kept the crowd pumped, but respectful and organized, using the strategy of blocking traffic to maximize the effectiveness and visibility of the protest, forever changing the history of this protest, and making her impact on this civil rights movement.  Below the video, please find the blog entry post for Obama IS America! authored by this powerful woman.  

Thank you.

AMERICA, WE’RE NOT FRIENDS ANYMORE, I FEEL LIKE I CAN’T BE MYSELF AROUND YOU AND I GOTTA PAY EVERY TIME WE GO OUT.

AMERICA WE GOTTA BREAK UP CAUSE THE SHIT YOU TELLING ME JUST DON’T ADD UP. I MEAN YOU SEEM COOL ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT I FEEL LIKE YOU TELLING ME A BUNCH OF LIES AND I’M QUITE SICK OF YOU.  I MEAN, I’M BRINGING MY KIDS UP WITH YOU AND I DON’T EVEN RESPECT YOUR VALUES, AND YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN; THE OVERSPENDING, THE ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN, THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE, HIDING BEHIND YOUR PHARMACUETICAL FRIENDS. I MEAN I REALLY WANNA WALK OUT ON YOU, BUT YOU KEEP BRINGING ME BACK WTH THAT PIMP TALK LIKE AIN’T NO OTHER COUNTRY GONNA LOVE ME LIKE YOU. I GOT THE NOTION THAT GOD’S PLAN WAS BIGGER THAN THAT BIGGER THAN YOU COME ON AMERICA I CAN SEE STRAIGHT THROUGH YOU, WHAT KIND OF GAME ARE YOU TRYNA PULL?  SERIOUSLY, I’M NOT SURE IF I STILL LOVE YOU AND I DON’T THINK YOU LOVE ME SO LET’S JUST END THINGS.  CHECK THIS, I’VE MADE SOME ARRANGEMENTS ALREADY SO KNOW ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS GET OUT AND TAKE ALL YOUR SHIT WITH YOU.  WHY? BECAUSE I CAN’T FLUSH DOWN ANOTHER FUCKING WAR, ANOTHER FUCKING SKEWED PROPOSTION AND ONE MORE NARROW ASSED HYPOCRIT TELLING ME HOW TO LIVE FROM CAPITOL HILL—WHICH I’VE NEVER BEEN TO BY THE WAY, YOU MADE IT SEEM LIKE YOU WANTED ME TO BE A PART OF YOUR WORK BUT YOU NEVER TOOK ME WITH YOU. I PACKED YOUR LUNCH NEVER SENT YOU OUT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH BUT SOMEHOW YOU COULDN’T RETURN THE FAVOR.  IT’S LIKE YOU DON’T SEE ME STARVING UNLESS I’M BEGGING FOR A HAND OUT AND SOMETIMES NOT EVEN THEN BUT I GUESS YOU WERE DISTRACTED ROLLING AROUND IN YOUR RED WHITE AND BLUE JAG THIKING YOU’RE COOL.  BY THE WAY, THAT’S ME BEHIND YOU SUCKING UP THE FUMES FROM YOU’RE EXPENSIVE GAS.  YO, HEY, I’VE HAD ENOUGH, PUT A FLAG IN ME, I’M DONE.  I’M TIRED OF BEING THE ONE CHASING YOU AROUND TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH YOU AND BABE STOP COMPARING ME TO JAPAN. IT ONLY MAKES ME INSECURE WHEN YOU DO THAT. I’M NOT GONNA BE JAPAN, I MEAN I WANT TO BE ADVANCED BUT I WANT TO BE ME. I MEAN IT’S NOT LIKE WE’RE LIVING IN THE STONE AGE BREDREN, I JUST WOULD LIKE SOME BASIC NEEDS. I KNOW YOU TAKE CARE OF ME BUT I DON’T KNOW WHY WE CAN’T SHARE WITH EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW LIKE SOME OF THE COUNTRIES IN NEED.  WE CAN HELP THEM GET ON THEIR FEET AND BEFORE YOU GET EXCITED LET’S GET THIS STRIAGHT WE WANT TO REALLY HELP THEM NOT HELP THEM THEN TRY TO CONTROL THINGS. YOU KNOW HOW YOU ARE, YOU’LL GET OVER THERE START HELPING THEM CLEAN UP THEIR PLACE AND THEN THE NEXT THING THEY KNOW YOUR IMPOSING NEW WAYS TO DISENFECT AND FILLING UP THEIR SPOT WITH RAID. CRAZIEST PART ABOUT IT, YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW IF THEY HAVE PESTS, YOU JUST BE ASSUMING SHIT AMERICA, AND YOU NEED TO STOP THAT SHIT CAUSE IT’S GETTING EMBARRASSING AND DOWN RIGHT MEAN.  IT’S SO OBVIOUS THAT YOU’RE REALLY ONLY LOOKING OUT FOR YOURSELF.  PEEP GAME YOUR BOY GEORGE W APPARENTLY HAS EVERYTHING FIGURED OUT INCLUDING YOU AND NOT TO BE STARTING SHIT BUT HE’S TRICKING YOU LIKE A PROSTITUE. OH, NOW YOU’RE GETTING MAD AND I WAS JUST SPITTING THE TRUTH.  THE MINUTE I SAY SOMETHING BLUNT YOU WANT TO COP AN ATTITUDE, AND THAT’S WHY I DON’T FEEL LIKE I CAN TALK TO YOU AND THAT’S WHY IT’S A WRAP.  OH ONE MORE THING I GUESS YOU THINK YOU’RE SLICK AND I WOULD NEVER FIND OUT, YOU SAY YOUR JUST HELPING IRAQ BUT I KNOW YOUR FUCKING HER BEHIND MY BACK………. 

[image added by the Editor]

Today I wake an African American 26yr old filmmaker/comedian settled in love and visualizing my aspirations, my dreams.  Loose with the mouth smartass if you like, a carefree superficial down to earth sociopathic angle, on a global pilgrimage just to be present; The American Dream.   We must stay present in a moment like this in all moments so that we realize the value of our time and the urgency to act now to breathe and act freely now.  We as human beings, myself included, live with fear on a daily basis and anyone who’s been afraid or startled before knows it’s a paralyzing experience.  Our fear can prevent us from going down the stairs in our own basement too late at night or it can keep us from introducing ourselves to someone who we’re interested in knowing.  Each day we operate out of fear—at least once during the course of the day.   If you are one of the rare individuals who doesn’t operate out of fear, I imagine you have found true peace amongst the lost and wicked, but it is not enough to be wise you must share your wisdom with others so we as a people can stand out of stagnation and be fearless in our political and social stands. We fixate on the differences between each other because it’s instilled in us the moment we enter any institution and second because it’s natural at least on a physical level.  Although we all live here we don’t take everyone for fellow statesmen. I grew up with a stepfather who loved to watch Westerns, so by default I watched a few and what I liked about them was the end when the character traveled or got to a new town some family would welcome some strangers received; they would put them up for the night and give them supper and the next morning send them off with good wishes and good travels.  Some of us have had this experience in our personal lives but it’s definitely not the norm, but why can’t it be, at least at some level….American history would include true representations of who we really are and globally how we want to be represented.  It’s disturbing how much common intelligence is lost between the cracks of blind ignorance.  Watching the RNC these past couple of months trying to grasp some understanding of where Bush and McCain supporters store their conviction…I’d like to think that we were all striving for peace and in fact George Bush used the word peace at the end of his speech the other night but I can’t see how that can be attained by feeding a war like many wars that leaves so many people of all creeds socially, mentally, spiritually and physically displaced. People—do we see the same America in front of us? Quite frankly when I think about the fact that in my life I’m experiencing public displays of ignorance at such a level in the workforce, to work at the White House, to work in politics, there’s an unspoken respect. And sometimes the response is bitterness or sometimes the response to someone working in that field is an ideological but now realistic goal for anyone who hasn’t experienced all the wonderful things on the creed by our fore fathers or mothers.  As an American I’m free to choose my route…then I go into neighborhoods and my fear of stereotypes and the unknown tribes around me make me closed off to the culture that’s before me and I wonder why do I feel so distant from these people whom I know want peace ultimately. …Peace…. Everyone having enough. A desire to create a world where fear in non-existent fears trap us in immeasurable ways…

Obama shines 

He smiles genuinely 

He takes his time with people.  

So What Comes Next For the Blog?

So you may be wondering what is going to happen next with the blog Obama IS America!. Well, the answer is that we are going to keep it going for several reasons.

1. We need to keep an eye on our dear President Elect Obama and make sure that he gets the job done right and makes the most of the incredible outpouring of support for him from the American people and the world. Intelligent criticism is essential to a functional democracy and we need to make sure that we keep a watchful eye on this administration to avoid careless blunders of the past from repeating themselves.

2. Now more than ever we need to bring attention to the many issues that are facing this country, the world, and each community (natural or human) therein. Not only do we need to bring attention to these issues, but we need to actually discuss them and present ideas and solutions.

3. Tuesday evening was officially a major milestone in modern human history for a multitude of reasons, the most prominent of which is that we have broken with our past history of segregation, slavery, and inequality for non-White people. As a nation we have elected a Black man to be President of the USA, a decision supported by most of the world.

Therefore,

it is time to REEVALUATE who we are. Please use this blog as an opportunity to redefine the American people, one person's story at a time. Let's explore who we are together. It is the theory of the Editor of Obama IS America! that what makes this nation so great is that we are all so different from each other. An American can be an American regardless of color, sexual orientation, class, religion, gender, culture, national origin (meaning where you were born), state you live in, interests, beliefs, the way you look and dress, etc.

Obama IS America! intends to continue to grow and flourish based on YOUR ideas and contributions. We look forward to the future and to your participation in recreating how that future will be.

THANK YOU AND ONE LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Click here* to link to the original blog post describing the mission of Obama IS America!.

WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!

What makes this man beautiful is that he is the embodiment of the American Dream. Let us not forget what that means:

Please watch the music videos below. They are each so beautiful and so powerful.

They show Americans--ALL Americans--calling for a new era of America:

A new way of thinking about American culture

A new way of thinking about American politics

A new way of thinking about each other

But really, not so new, because America has always been diverse. It has always been a mix of cultures and peoples and ways of thinking--since before it was even a nation. What is different about this election, and what its seems that people really mean by CHANGE, is that we will finally come to accept ourselves as a nation for who we are:

an incredibly diverse, beautiful group of hard-working human beings sharing a space on this planet together.

Divisions between people only exist if we let them, and this election is calling for a NEW, TOLERANT, and PEACEFUL era of American and of World history.

These videos are all calling for:

• Obama to be President of the United States of America
  
• CHANGE/REBIRTH of how we think
  
• For the War in Iraq (and war in general) to end.
  

Also, please click on the following link to see a BRILLIANT photography project done by photographer Maarten de Boer. The name of the project is: I am Obama, which is a series of photographs of Obama supporters in LA. De Boer did not hand choose these people--they are random people that heard about the project, came to his studio, and volunteered to have a photograph taken of them in support of Obama (including your very own Editor of Obama IS America!). The purpose of this project was to show the DIVERSITY OF PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT. And it must be said that the people of Los Angeles and the supporters of Obama are ridiculously good-looking :)

Barack Obama Music Video:

Si Se Puede!!!!!! - Andres Useche

Change the World! Everyone for Obama!!!

Obama - Man in the Mirror (the sound is a little weird in this one, but its still a good video)

A Fulbrighter story: Brazil for Obama!

THEY  HAVE  DEDICATED  BILLBOARDS  TO  OBAMA  IN  BRAZIL!  

He is a loved man all over the place!

The billboard says in Portuguese:  Pensar O Novo.

In English that can be translated to:  Think new.

So why don't you?

This blog contains:

1.   An opinion piece by the Editor of Obama IS America!

2.  A piece written by Percussionist and 2008-2009 Fulbright Grant winner, Catherine Barnes.

(Her work was originally a facebook note post).

And we begin;

So people have been referring to Obama sarcastically as 'the Messiah'.  Well what does that word even mean exactly?  

I would imagine that the sentences below describe at least part of what a term like 'messiah' should mean--in a practical way, of course:

• Someone who is revered
  
• Someone who is a purely good person.  
  
• Someone who seeks to bring positive change to the world and is supported by so many intelligent people from ALL backgrounds in this quest.
  
• Someone who is Peaceful and works hard to be that way. 
  

The excitement, passion, awe and glorification of Obama at home and around the world is more like the energy that must have been around Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammed Ali, Nelson Mandela, Shaka Zulu, Frederick Douglas, Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa, Che Guevara, Michael Jackson, and other people of that magnanimous nature.

I think he is a hero to the people that need him to be a hero right now, not just here in the US, but AROUND THE WORLD.  I think an Obama Presidency will be very healing of some of the MAJOR wounds this country suffers from--like a long history of discrimination, slavery, colonization, and imperialism of one culture against many others in a brutal way.  It won't mean that those histories don't matter and that we should forget about them.  We should NEVER forget about the bad parts of history--we need them to keep ourselves in check.  But it is time that we stop acting and living in the past.   

Brazil is a country with a very active and very deep culture of racism.  Brazil is often compared to the US in terms of race relations and the way that race ties with class.  Except that there is a MUCH higher percentage of Brazilians who identify as mixed and non-White, which makes Barack Obama even more of a shining star:

He represents equality more clearly than anyone who has run for President in a long while

Please read the article below.  It is beautiful.

I'm keeping up with the US Presidential Election via the New York Times email updates, but if I were to cancel my subscription, I don't think I'd be any less informed on what's going on right now in America; I just have to talk to Jorge*, the guy who works for my landlord.

OK, so Jorge is...whatever the male version of a maid is (is there a word for that in English?): part handy-man, part gardener, part pet-care specialist, part cleaner, and yes--part PLUMBER--the poor guy has had to fix my shower TWICE since I moved in--Jorge is, in my opinion, far more legit than his American counterpart, who is neither a plumber nor in any kind of tax jeopardy if Obama is elected, according to the New York Times. Anyway, Jorge is the kind of guy that either campaign would KILL to have as a symbol: affable, hard-working, and dirt poor--but unlike Joe the Plumber, Jorge the Plumber supports Obama. Every morning when he sees me, he greets me like this:

"OBAMA!!!! OBAMA VAI GANHAR!!!"

(Obama is going to win!!)

and I always say, "Espero que sim, Jorge." (I hope so, Jorge.)

and then he always says, 

"NÃO!! OBAMA VAI GANHAR! COM CERTEZA!!"

(NO! Obama is GOING to win! I'm CERTAIN!)

Jorge is SO excited about Obama that sometimes I forget he can't actually vote for him. So today, when I read in my Times email digest that Colin Powell has endorsed Obama, I was floored. I had to tell Jorge, even though I wasn't sure if he would know who Powell is, or what this means for the Obama campaign...but I figured he would want to know, anyway.

"Oi Jorge, bom dia! Guess what! Today the guy who was Bush's secretary of state when he started the Iraq war said that he supports Obama!"
"Ah, eh? That's great! Obama needs the support, he's only four points ahead in the polls!"
How the hell did he know that? "Jorge, where did you find that out?"
"Oh, it's always on the news. We're very concerned about the American elections here...American politics have a HUGE impact on Brazil."

I knew that, but I didn't expect someone like Jorge to be paying that much attention to it; after all, working-class people in America probably don't even know what language they speak in Brazil (why don't we ask Joe the Plumber?). Jorge knew all about the Iraq war. He knew all about September 11. He knew all about global warming. He knew all about how the euro is kicking the dollar in the ass. He knew all about the lending crisis behind the economic recession. He even knew all about U.S. foreign policy: "It's like someone walking into someone else's house and moving all of their things around without asking them." In fact, the only thing that Jorge didn't know was McCain's name; he kept calling him, "o outro cara" (the other guy). 

Jorge is not unique among Brazilians in his support for Obama; anytime you tell someone that you're American, they immediately want to talk politics (just like the jerk in the bar from my "Proud" note); once you say you're voting for Obama, they breathe a HUGE sigh of relief. When I went to the post office to mail my ballot, I got into a conversation about the election with the lady in front of me. I told her that I'm from California, which is already going for Obama, so my vote doesn't really count, and she misunderstood this to mean that I'm voting for McCain; she looked at me like I had leprosy and said, "You're NOT VOTING FOR OBAMA?!?" (We got that straightened out pretty quickly.) And just today I was on the bus and the woman sitting next to me was wearing an Obama button. I asked her if she was American and she said no, but a friend of hers had been in New York and had brought her the button as a present. A present. 

But Brazilians are also aware of the dangers inherent in Obama's situation, and often say that Obama needs to be very, very careful; Jorge even compared him to Bobby Kennedy (how does he know about Bobby Kennedy?! There are people in America who don't even know who Bobby Kennedy is!). I have a friend in São Paulo who is adamant that Obama is going to die. And another acquaintance of mine here in Rio told me the following joke:

Obama dies and goes to heaven, and Saint Peter greets him at the gates.
"Hi there, what's your name?"
"I'm Barack Obama."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Saint Peter. What did you do during your life?"
"I was President of the United States."
"Wow, that's great! For how long?"
"Twenty minutes."

On the one hand, they have a point: Obama is a black man running for president in a very racist nation. But on the other hand, I think they're jealous; Brazilians LOVE to tell you that they're not racist, but I don't think Brazil is anywhere near as close to having a black president as America is...

So what should we take from all this? That if the nation of Brazil could vote for the President of the United States, they would vote for Barack Obama (the notable exception being McCain's Brazilian ex-girlfriend). I think I can safely say that if the rest of the world could vote, they would vote for Obama. Having said that, there are Americans don't care for the opinion of the world; I have a friend who runs a pro-Obama blog who received the following comment from a McCain supporter: "I'm voting for president of the United States, not president of the world!" COME ON, kid...you're a Republican! Where's you're American ego? Like it or not, we ARE (one of) the most important country(/ies) in the world...and the fact that George W. Bush and his administration have gotten away with the things they've done is proof that we as a nation are not taking this responsibility seriously enough. If you don't believe that, just take a look at what the greed of American banks has done to economies worldwide. It's not just about "Joe the Plumber;" the policies of the next president of the United States will also affect my galera here in Brazil: the jerk in the bar, and the lady in the post office, and the lady on the bus, and my friend in São Paulo, and my friend who told me the awful joke, and yes...they will affect Jorge, too. And if he can say it, so can I:

Obama vai ganhar. 
Com CERTEZA.

...and when he does, I am going to buy Jorge a CERVEJA...


*It's pronounced "Zjor-zjee,"...I know it looks like "Hor-hay"...but unfortunately, Brazil doesn't speak Spanish...

-- 
Catherine Barnes - Percussionist
Fulbright Brazil 2008 - 2009
http://myspace.com/barnespercussion
http://youtube.com/barnespercussion (**NEW**)

治身平天下 - Improve Self for Peace Under the Sky

治身平天下

Reader Post by Jingmai

“I’m starting with the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to make a change. And no question could been any clearer, if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change” Michael Jackson.

Confucius said it, Ghandi said it, Jebus said it, and so did Michael. Confucius said, 治身平天下 - improve self for peace under the sky. In part of a longer essay, he writes that everyone should improve themselves, if one can succeed in being a good person, they can work to improve their family’s condition. If successful, one works outward to include their community, then their country, eventually creating a peaceful world. But anyone out there who says that they have gotten past family or even self has their head up their ass. Look at America, riddled with problems, kids can’t read, bums everywhere, failing social security and healthcare systems… yet we deem ourselves worthy to police the world and protect other nations from themselves. On smaller levels, we all are guilty of this; it is easier to face another’s demons then your own. But if everyone just tried to be the best person they could be, while I don’t necessarily agree there could ever exist world peace, the world would surely be a better place.

So look inward, assess yourself fairly, what are you guilty of? Take responsibility for your actions and create positive change in your life. Obama has become a popular embodiment of for change and hope for a better future, but it is important to remember that each individual has just as much responsibility to be a force of positive change as Obama or McCain. If you truly believe in a better future, then be that better future.

Video: Micheal Jackson - Man in the Mirror

Also, check out these links, which are people trying to make a change, at least in terms of this election:



I AM OBAMA! Photography!

Two Voters

More on this to come!!