This Christmas’ celebration will be slightly altered: due to recession, you might not find as many presents under the tree this holiday season, and due to progression, you might find a certain Black man’s image more present this holiday season.

Along with the holiday season of 2008, the election of 2008 marks an entirely “new time” according acclaimed film producer Spike Lee. Lee has contested during an interview with MSNBC:

“You can divide history. BB Before Barack. AB After Barack.”

The landslide election of November 2008 made it obvious that the majority of voting Americans believe in Barack Obama- but the question is to what extent?

Obama has been likened to Jesus Christ on numerous accounts, both by lament citizens and those in the public eye. Examples of such comparisons can be found as close to home as Chicago, where Art Institute of Chicago student/ artist David Cordero’s sculpture titled “Blessing” depicts President Barack Obama as Jesus Christ.

And this same train of thought reaches as far as England where Gerard Baker’s essay titled “He Ventured Forth and Brought Light into the World”, which depicts the entire 2008 campaign trail as a Biblical tale.

With all of these comparisons to the Messiah, the question as to how President Barack feels about the bond beckons. With his skin of bronze, his hair of sheep’s wool, and ice water in his veins- I can imagine President Obama cleverly and humbly making light of these religious comparisons, just as he has done in reference to race in the past. For, it is not a question of how Barack Obama feels about race or religion; but how he feels about the combination of the two, specifically in the form United States backed programs, such as the Counter Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO).

COINTELPRO, a program under the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI) which was created in order to neutralize domestic militant groups during the Civil Rights Era. This process was implemented by 5 long term goals, which can be found under the document’s segment titled Black Nationalist and Hate groups.

COINTELPRO’s first of the five goals was to, “Prevent the coalition of militant black nationalist groups…An effective coalition of black nationalist groups might be the first step toward a real “Mau Mau” in America, the beginning of a true Black revolution.”

President Obama, born in 1961 to an Anglo-American mother and Kenyan father, is assuredly familiar with the Mau Mau reference; in regards to the Kenyan rebellion (1952-1960) against British oppression. I can imagine the negative perception of Kenyan’s fight for freedom could possibly make the omni-cool President Barack Obama crossed, even if the COINTELPRO’S second goal, guaranteeing the prevention of the “rise of the Black Messiah”, doesn’t.
—Pendarvis Harshaw