Uneasy Times for Black Politicos?

Charles D. Ellison, Huffington Post contributor and lecturer, writes about the fate of non-seated Illinois senator-to be Roland Burris and other black politicos in this supposedly “post-racial” era: 

Too many folks are quick to claim “post-racial” transition in the final analysis of this election. It might be a “post-racial” election, but far from a “post-racial” era. In fact, we are about to experience tension between various expectations and realities that could, potentially, aggravate the racial dynamic – particularly during an economic downturn. The extent of this we can’t predict.

What is certain is that Blagojevich, as dense as he sounds on wiretaps, masterfully worked that tension to his own political advantage. In that sense, the Black political establishment, while in the bliss of ultimate political maturity, finds itself getting played. Before it could truly grasp the significance of reaching the next level, it’s held back by the grip of a dusty paradigm.

Perhaps, there is a price that comes with maturity: for the jubilation of one Black President, there is the pain of multiple scandals. Burris may not be scandalous, but it is unfortunate that, on the cusp of becoming the lone African American in the Senate, he will be tainted by scandal. And he’s not alone. He may join colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, such as House Ways and Means Chair Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), who face fresh money investigations. They are not alone – House Judiciary Chair. John Conyers’ (D-MI) wife, Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers, is under probe and newly minted California Rep. Laura Richardson (D) faces an ethics probe, as well. And, although gone from Congress, the smell of cash in former Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-LA) fridge is still fresh.

Elsewhere, as Obama reached heights once thought as unattainable, former Detroit “hip hop mayor” Kwame Kilpatrick (D) was jailed, his mother CBC Chair Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI) barely hanging on to her seat in the wake of the embattled son’s scandal. North Carolina State House Rep. Thomas Wright (D) sits in a Craven, NC prison for an eight year sentence. In Maryland, Baltimore’s first Black female Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) faces a 12-count indictment with Councilwoman Helen Holton separately charged in the same week. Nearby, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, powerful State Senator Ulysses Currie (D) also worries over an ongoing FBI probe.

These are uneasy times for African Americans in politics.

Read the entire column.

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