Was Moseley Braun’s loss an embarrassment for black people?

By: Sister Fatima Muhammad

Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun was chosen as the “consensus” black candidate by a bunch of old guards who are no longer “in tuned” with reality.

In January 2011, Rev. Jesse Jackson and other so-called African-American leaders met privately for days at Rainbow PUSH headquarters in Chicago with the African-American mayoral candidates in an attempt to unify behind what they termed a “consensus” black candidate for Chicago's February 22nd, election.

Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun was chosen as the “consensus” black candidate by a bunch of old guards who are no longer “in tuned” with reality. The imposition of a “consensus” black candidate upon the African-American people in Chicago, to put it mildly, was disrespectful, dumb and stupid!

It was disappointing to hear the likes of State Sen. Rickey Hendon, who called Carol Moseley Braun's loss "the embarrassment of a lifetime for black people," or to hear Sen. Donne Trotter, when he said that, "He thought that we, as people of color in the city of Chicago, have made some giant strides over the years, and he saw this as a deterioration."

Could it be that Hendon, Trotter and Rev. Jackson are still stuck in the past? Are they not aware that words such as African-America, Black, people of color, or consensus candidate have no meaning when it comes to screening and analyzing the BEST candidates for the Mayor of City Chicago position?

Don't get me wrong; I love Carol Mosley Braun; but this was not the same person that ran for the U.S. Senate seat several years ago. She has changed and I just could not relate to the new Carol Mosley Braun.

Among her multiple missteps, the last straw for me, was when Carol Mosley Braun, said to Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins, "Patricia, the reason you didn't know where I was these past 20 years was because you were strung out on crack, you have admitted to that."

Braun was set off when Dr. Watkins questioned which of the two had more experience working on the streets of Chicago and asked Mosley Braun where she had been. Watkins is an admitted former drug user. She has admitted to drug use as a teenager, including some cocaine, but said she never used crack. Dr. Watkins has been sober for 25 years and had earned a Ph.D. She now runs a church and a community ministry.

Had I been an adviser to the former Senator Moseley Braun, I would have prepared her to respond to Dr. Watkins comments by saying something like, “I am the first, and the only, African-American woman elected to the United States Senate and one of only six African-Americans EVER to served in the mostly all-white-male United States Senate,” and I would further add, “I have been very busy representing this country as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand, and running a small and struggling business.”

Election is no different from strategic marketing, planning and product placement. Emanuel did an excellent job in promoting and placing his product. Additionally, Emanuel was on his best behavior. He got 59% of Black votes, 38% Latino votes, and 59% White votes. Mosley Braun on the other hand got 21% of Black votes, 02% Latino votes, and 02% White votes. She won only one precinct, and that is in the 3rd Ward.

For Sen. Hendon to suggest that Moseley Braun's loss is "the embarrassment of a lifetime for black people," it was as if he was suggesting that Chicago’s Blacks should only purchase from stores that are marked with a lamb's blood on the doorposts with the wording, “Black Owned” with complete disregards to product or price comparison.

Without a doubt, Moseley Braun's loss was an embarrassment. But, it was an embarrassment only to Moseley Braun and no one else.