A Stark Look:
Mr. Obama, Where Is The Urban Agenda?

The presidential nominee of a political party has the obligation to set the pace and the policy for the party and the platform that all of the candidates will run on. Thus, as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, he is the person that must shape the issues that will take him and his fellow party candidates to victory in the general election.

Senator Obama has been rather aggressive in outlining his positions on everything from the war in Iraq to the economy and parental responsibility. Senator Obama’s vocal and prosaic statement of his positions on many of the crucial issues that face this nation today explains in large measure, his enormous appeal and the reason that he was able to win the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

The policies that have been espoused by Senator Obama on the campaign trail will likely end up shaping party platform. However, the one overriding policy that is missing from the Obama platform so far is his articulation of a comprehensive urban agenda.

A comprehensive urban agenda is needed because of the social and physical infrastructural faults that have appeared in cities and small towns all across America. The lists of urban ills that plague the country are growing exponentially each day because of the symbiotic relationship that they share. The deteriorating physical school buildings that are infested with led paint, leaking roofs, swimming pools and gymnasiums that are in disrepair, and hazardous and outdated equipment contribute to the overall lack of a positive feeling about the school environment. Deteriorating school buildings that have inadequate books, computers, poorly stocked libraries and teachers who are not prepared to teach inner city children who have the greatest learning deficits spell disaster. While the previous Republican administrations opened the door to the privatization of public education through vouchers programs and charter schools, it is clear that the great majority of America’s children will continue to be educated in public schools. An investment in public education especially at the pre-school and elementary school levels is the most cost effective investment in the future of the nation. A comprehensive urban agenda should include specific solutions to the education of America’s children. The agenda would start with reference to the inner city schools that are for the most part educational wastelands in increasingly deteriorating urban landscapes. It is impossible to solve the problems of inner city education without at the same time beginning the process of inner city social and physical reconstruction.

America’s transportation system is dire need of repair and updating. Public transportation is the major alternative for the economically strapped metropolitan dwellers who cannot afford to pay $5 a gallon for gas. Cities, counties and metro agencies are straining to meet the demands of the needed repairs of an aging rail commuter system, as well as, the high cost of road repair and the replacement costs for buses. Metropolitan areas cannot function without an adequate mass public transportation system. When cutbacks are instituted in cities, the inner city areas are the first to feel the most negative effects. Inner city residents often subjected to the worst schedules, the most crowded conveyances, inadequate connections to the most promising jobs, educational and recreational opportunities, and the most outdated equipment. All of these negative transportation factors contribute to persistent poverty and the lack of opportunity. A comprehensive urban agenda should include plans to upgrade urban transportation and equalize transportation services in inner city communities. Efficient, reliable, and first rate equipment is essential to the redevelopment of the inner cities of America. A good mass transit system is necessary to job development, public school attendance, and the accessibility to recreation facilities for inner city residents.

While all of the Democratic candidates for president put forth plans for comprehensive health care, Senators Obama and Clinton’s plans for universal health care received the most review. Both made it clear that they intended to institute plans that would cover all Americans; however, neither took time to show how their plans would specifically solve the problems of inner city residents. Specifically, even with universal health care, what policies will be put in place that will guard against patient dumping of inner city residents by private hospitals? What policies will be put in place to provide efficient and accessible prenatal and child health care for inner city children? What policies will be put in place to increase the number of Black doctors and nurses who can fill the gap of family medicine practitioners that are so greatly needed in inner city communities? How will the Medicaid and Medicare programs be integrated into a universal health care program? What policies will be put in place to eliminate predatory and fraudulent practitioners in inner city communities? A comprehensive urban agenda will out of necessity address the glaring health disparities that plague inner city communities throughout America. Obesity, HIV and AIDS, high blood pressure, cancer and an entire list of diseases contribute to the a shorter life span of inner city residents, as well as, a poor quality of life, all of which have a symbiotic relationship to crime, education, employment, the overall well being of the entire city. A portion of the population that cannot contribute to the welfare of their city because of poor health will end up a drain on the city’s economy. A healthy population is an economic and social plus to any city.

WHAT MUST BE DONE!

As the presumptive Democratic Party Presidential Nominee, Senator Obama must translate these ideas for an urban agenda into the Democratic Party Platform and have it incorporated into the mantra of the party nationally. America’s cities are in extreme structural disrepair and in need of social reconstruction. Contrary to popular belief a rising tide does not lift all boats! Those boats that have holes in their bottoms or weak construction will only sink in a rising tide. Thus, the blanket solutions that have been articulated by Senator Obama to date that have the underlying assumption that we all have the same problems and will benefit from the same solutions are patently false and dangerous. The problems of inner city African-American residents are not the same as those of those living in the cannons of high rise luxury apartments along Chicago’s North Lake Shore Drive, fashionable Park Avenue in New York City, or those in the middle class enclaves in American cities. Many inner cities are now being gentrified, the federal government is abandoning public housing and inner city residents are being scattered throughout metropolitan areas without the necessary accompanying social amelioration that will enable these residents to integrate seamlessly into their new environments.

African-Americans still need the benefits of Affirmative Action and the federal protection provided within the Affirmative Action guidelines. Racial discrimination, racism and white supremacy are still alive and well and living in America and the rest of the world. We are not in a post- racial world in spite of the fact that Senator Obama is poised to become the first Black President! We are constantly reminded by political scientists Michael Dawson (University of Chicago) and Adolph Reed (The New School for Social Research) not to expect too much from an Obama presidency because Mr. Obama has not made any specific promises to the Black community, which maybe a good indication of how he intends to shape policies towards the Black community as president. Some critics have gone even further to suggest that it is this vague and almost non commitment to the Black community and inner city America that accounts for the tremendous appeal that many white supporters have for the Senator. Let us pray that the absence of an articulated urban agenda and the lack of a specific policy commitment to African-Americans is only an unfortunate oversight that will be addressed in the near future.

To quote the oral tradition of the Bambara people: “The spoken word is everything, it cuts, it flays, it models, it modulate. It heals, or kills outright. It is louder or softer as willed. It excites or calms souls.” African-Americans need to hear solid “spoken words” from Senator Obama followed by solid action!