In the immortal words of the late Christopher Wallace, ‘First things First’ – Bill Clinton is no friend to Black people, and in no way deserves the honor of “First Black President.”

While I have a great deal of respect for political strategist and media pundit, Donna Brazile, (I don’t know how that sister survived the political snake pit), she is flat out wrong to declare Bill Clinton as a "soldier in the field for Black people."

Bill Clinton wasn’t even a pro-Black president. The truth is, the effect of his policies have been more damaging to our communities than any hard-line Republican.

If you don’t believe me, go down to Mississippi and look at the impact of Clinton’s so-called Welfare Reform on the infant mortality rate.

Ask Lani Guinier how loved she felt by Bill – and Hillary – when they abandoned her, leaving her high and dry after a chorus of Republican conservatives got upset over President Clinton’s nomination of Guinier in 1993.

If you’re not convinced yet, go back and study the effect of the Death Penalty Act of 1996, which expanded the number of crimes you can be executed for under our racially imbalanced system. Then take a look at the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 fact sheet and count the ways the legislation is especially hard for Black and Latino communities – particularly young Black-Latino men and boys.

Finally, maybe go on and have a chat with the people of Rwanda – those who are still alive – about how President Clinton did nothing despite months of urgent calls to action by his National Security Advisors in early 1994 before the genocidal massacre started in April of that year; yet, in 1995 Clinton, responding to genocidal warfare in the former Yugoslavia, sent peacekeeping troops to that region. In his words, “It is the right thing to do.”

And while Hillary didn't hold political position then, she certainly held political and pillow talk power. Instead of "finding her voice" when it could have saved lives, she remained silent in the face of dangerous policy. And she’s been evermore silent as her hubby's gentrifying foray into an area she now represents in the Senate – Harlem. Clinton’s move to Harlem (he could have selected any other area of New York City) has in effect driven real estate sky high forcing poorer Blacks and Latinos out of their homes and businesses. Where was Bill Clinton when Mr. Calvin Copeland , 82, had to shut down his landmark restaurant in Harlem because he could no longer afford the rent since Bill Clinton came to Harlem?

If Bill Clinton is a soldier for anyone, it is the Republican party and his own political interest. It is not Black or Brown people.

For the relative few of us who did economically well under Bill Clinton's leadership: God Bless you, more power to you, that's beautiful and if any other Democrat were President at the time, they would have ridden the economic wave of the ‘90s too.

For years there’s been a rumor floating around the Black community that President Bill Clinton apologized for slavery. He did not apologize for slavery. No president of the United States has done so.

In 1998 while traveling through Africa, Clinton used lawyer-speak to skirt around the issue of slavery and blame. The BBC reported this story on Clinton: "In Uganda on the second leg of his African tour, President Bill Clinton acknowledged that the United States was wrong to benefit from slavery. However the president stopped short of an explicit apology. He said the United States had not always done the right thing by Africa, and that perhaps its worst sin had been that of neglect and ignorance.” That is not an apology.

Enough with the myth already.

Join BBN for free to post a comment on this page.
If you already have an account, please login here to post a comment on this page.