By Vaniecia Williams
When Maya Angelou was on the Tom Joyner Morning Show recently, she talked about how gracious President and Mrs. Bush were, so much so that President and Mrs. Obama praised their graciousness and leadership in making their White House transition a smooth one; where they really felt a genuineness and sincerity for success. Tom Joyner then remarked how people booed when President Obama praised President Bush for his years of service.
Maya’s response was that we must learn to have humility and respect. She reminded the listening audience that this is the tone President Obama has set forth for us, and we all need to adhere to his lead. Ms. Angelou went on to say that people need to learn to have grace, and to not respond to everything they hear in an adversarial way. She reminded us that we need to stop being critical of one another, and when someone says something we may not agree with, just pause, take note and not react in a negative way, as there is a time when petty differences need to be set aside.
Ms. Angelou’s comments came at the right moment, because just the night before having been engaged in a conversation where it was cynically questioned why Jesse Jackson was crying, I was completely astonished as I asked my colleagues were they serious about that question? They proceeded to explain that their rage was due to a comment Rev. Jackson made during a campaign speech given by then Senator Obama. Still I looked at them with bewilderment because I couldn’t believe the hatred towards this Civil Rights legend, just because he made a momentary blunder. Haven’t we all said things in the moment that we wish had not come out of our mouths, and haven’t we all said them in a nasty, derogative or perhaps racist tone?
Isn’t this what President Obama was addressing in his speech? Hasn’t he shown in his appointments that although we have differences we must learn to respect and work with one another? Now if he is leading by example who are we to hold grudges, anger, jealousy or resentment? If he can let it go, why can’t we?
Respect given is respect earned, respect earned is respect given. President Obama had to earn our respect – he knows that, so in consequence he now is giving that respect back. You could see the genuine affection between the out going and incoming first families. After all they are now members of the same elite circle.
When are we going to learn this? That’s what our President is trying to teach and inspire by modeling it for us. Even President Bush in the end showed his graciousness, his humor, and his good ole southern boy charm. But if you think it’s OK to boo a former President or to deface anything with his name on it, or to graffiti his sculpture, then you have truly missed the mission President Obama gave in his inaugural message, let alone his messages throughout his campaign.
As for the economy, you cannot just lay that at President Bush’s door, as President Obama said we all have had a hand in it. Black Americans, you contribute when you abandon black-owned businesses for Wal Mart to Tiffany’s; White Americans, you contribute when you would rather hire your friend who has no experience instead of the African American who often times is more than qualified for that position; Hispanic Americans, you contribute when you refuse to learn English in a nation of immigrants where surely you should understand that for all of us to be able to communicate and understand one another there has to be a common denominator language; and lastly Asian Americans, you contribute when you act as if every Black person that comes into your business is a criminal . . . the list goes on and on. We just need to adhere to our new President’s call for service - to help - which means we must have grace. The challenge becomes a minute by minute process, starting one step at a time.
When Maya Angelou was on the Tom Joyner Morning Show recently, she talked about how gracious President and Mrs. Bush were, so much so that President and Mrs. Obama praised their graciousness and leadership in making their White House transition a smooth one; where they really felt a genuineness and sincerity for success. Tom Joyner then remarked how people booed when President Obama praised President Bush for his years of service.
Maya’s response was that we must learn to have humility and respect. She reminded the listening audience that this is the tone President Obama has set forth for us, and we all need to adhere to his lead. Ms. Angelou went on to say that people need to learn to have grace, and to not respond to everything they hear in an adversarial way. She reminded us that we need to stop being critical of one another, and when someone says something we may not agree with, just pause, take note and not react in a negative way, as there is a time when petty differences need to be set aside.
Ms. Angelou’s comments came at the right moment, because just the night before having been engaged in a conversation where it was cynically questioned why Jesse Jackson was crying, I was completely astonished as I asked my colleagues were they serious about that question? They proceeded to explain that their rage was due to a comment Rev. Jackson made during a campaign speech given by then Senator Obama. Still I looked at them with bewilderment because I couldn’t believe the hatred towards this Civil Rights legend, just because he made a momentary blunder. Haven’t we all said things in the moment that we wish had not come out of our mouths, and haven’t we all said them in a nasty, derogative or perhaps racist tone?
Isn’t this what President Obama was addressing in his speech? Hasn’t he shown in his appointments that although we have differences we must learn to respect and work with one another? Now if he is leading by example who are we to hold grudges, anger, jealousy or resentment? If he can let it go, why can’t we?
Respect given is respect earned, respect earned is respect given. President Obama had to earn our respect – he knows that, so in consequence he now is giving that respect back. You could see the genuine affection between the out going and incoming first families. After all they are now members of the same elite circle.
When are we going to learn this? That’s what our President is trying to teach and inspire by modeling it for us. Even President Bush in the end showed his graciousness, his humor, and his good ole southern boy charm. But if you think it’s OK to boo a former President or to deface anything with his name on it, or to graffiti his sculpture, then you have truly missed the mission President Obama gave in his inaugural message, let alone his messages throughout his campaign.
As for the economy, you cannot just lay that at President Bush’s door, as President Obama said we all have had a hand in it. Black Americans, you contribute when you abandon black-owned businesses for Wal Mart to Tiffany’s; White Americans, you contribute when you would rather hire your friend who has no experience instead of the African American who often times is more than qualified for that position; Hispanic Americans, you contribute when you refuse to learn English in a nation of immigrants where surely you should understand that for all of us to be able to communicate and understand one another there has to be a common denominator language; and lastly Asian Americans, you contribute when you act as if every Black person that comes into your business is a criminal . . . the list goes on and on. We just need to adhere to our new President’s call for service - to help - which means we must have grace. The challenge becomes a minute by minute process, starting one step at a time.
