Rapper Common Not The Only White-House-Invited Black Artist Being Targeted By Conservatives Today

Common is in the cross-hairs of the right in spite of his mainstream appeal and good works; but he’s not the only artist to appear at the White House poetry jam that has conservatives upset.  A year ago, singer Jill Scott told Essence magazine, “When my friend told me his wife was Caucasian, I felt my spirit wince.” Out of context that can be easily misinterpreted, but as Jon Bershad writes at Mediaite, “If you read past the provocative quote… you’ll see that Scott is actually analyzing the internal conflict she has between being raised to view everyone as equal despite the color of their skin and the subconscious discomfort she feels seeing a successful black man dating a white woman. In that way, Scott’s supposed racism in making these comments is about as real as Shirley Sherrod’s.”

Here’s what she said to Essence:

“Was I jealous? Did the reality of his relationship somehow diminish his soul’s credibility? The answer is not simple. One could easily dispel the wince as racist or separatist, but that’s not how I was brought up. I was reared in a Jehovah’s Witness household. I was taught that every man should be judged by his deeds and not his color, and I firmly stand where my grandmother left me. African people worldwide are known to be welcoming and open-minded. We share our culture sometimes to our own peril and most of us love the very notion of love. My position is that for women of color, this very common ‘wince’ has solely to do with the African story in America.”

Common has a similarly nuanced view of interracial relationships, which is similarly being pilloried by the right.

“I don’t think there’s anything the matter with somebody loving somebody from another race but it’s almost like a stereotype that if you’ve got dreadlocks you go out with a white girl. just feel like, as black men, we do have to be aware that, yo, every time we step out with some woman it’s setting an example for our daughters and it’s also representing something for our mothers. If you can’t really love your own, how can you really love others?”

Common is also being attacked because he appeared with Rev. Jeremiah Wright at New Year’s 2008 celebration. So there is a double reason to link him, negatively, to President Obama.

Jon put it well:

This is just an example of finding any possible excuse to get people to hate Michelle Obama and therefore her husband and therefore his administration. Selectively quoting from year-old columns by random event guests to attack the Obamas? That’s stretching.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.