Thanksgiving Thoughts - From a black man - 2009

Local and national news have been showing  images of the First lady Michelle Obama in the elegant, strapless designer gown she wore for the white House's first state dinner. While a group of native Americans and thier supports are experiencing thanks & giving-back to Dineh elder resisters at Big Mtn.

Candidly, I'm just a bit disappointed to see our government, lead by an African American,  have a state dinner while black folks are in a depression and there is so much hunger in America. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on Thanksgiving, I know we have a lot to be thankful for, but.... 

State Dinner vs Hunger in America

As Jayne Lyn Stahl, recently wrote in CounterPunch, "one can't help but be distracted by the equally stunning number of people who find themselves hungry and poor this Thanksgiving. More than 12% of all Americans know what it means to be poor in America. While they're conspicuously absent from reality T.V. shows, from box office movies, and political party platforms, they are increasingly visible at food banks, and shelters." For me, Obama and his administration should take a second look at having "State Dinners" when so many Americans are out of work and losing their homes? Happy Thanksgiving?

Seeing that black folks don't seem to be getting anything substantial from the Obama administration, Maybe Barack Obama will give the native Americans a Thanksgiving and  Settle the USDA lawsuit in keeping with the National Congress of American Indians request.
(Note: the National Congress of American Indians recently passed a resolution asking Obama to settle a lawsuit against the USDA, who denied thousands of American Indian farmers credit to keep their farms running).

UPDATE: Now we here reports of the big security leak at the White House. How did these knuckleheads get this close to the Vice president and the President?