Hosted by 96-year-old civil rights lioness Dr. Dorothy Height, and moderated by radio show host Blanche Williams (Greatness by Design, XM Radio Channel 155), the Town Hall Meeting gathered over 100 Black women from the worlds of academia, public service, civic participation, media, business, and the arts to create a Black woman-focused agenda to deliver to the presidential candidates in the 2008 general election. Among those on hand to help shape the agenda were Faye Wattleton, who heads the Center for the Advancement of Women, and Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College.

“We stand together to embrace a heightened vision of ourselves and to create a blueprint that will help change the landscape of our future,” explained Williams. “It’s part of a process that serves to give Black women the opportunity to have our say.”

Of course, such a blueprint could not be created without asking regular Black women what is important to them. That’s where NiaPulse came in. We asked 670 Black women who are members of our online research panel which issues matter to them most. We discovered that Black women have a very simple election season agenda: They are most interested in building a stronger economy. Next on their list of priorities is addressing health care coverage, followed by raising educational standards. This data, which I presented, helped to focus the discussion at the Town Hall Meeting, and to determine what will be emphasized in the agenda the candidates receive.

To see the Town Hall Meeting in its entirety as it was broadcast on C-Span, click here.  To learn what will come out of the gathering during the coming months, check with NCNW.org, Greatness by Design, and Girl Get Me Started!

–Sheryl Huggins Salomon

“[Jesse Jackson's] stunningly inappropriate comments symbolize the social, political and psychological vertigo that all of us, and especially Black Americans, are experiencing because of Obama’s success. We are all, including Obama, in a place we never really thought we would be, and it has knocked us off our feet. We don’t know how to act. We don’t have a plan. We’re searching for our equilibrium. And until we regain our footing, we can expect all sorts of bizarre behavior from people who ought to know better. Hold on to your hat.”
–Jack White, who suggests Black people aren’t truly ready for a Black man to become President in his July 10 article for The Root, “When The Man is One of Us.“

Black people are so used to fighting for change with outsider status that we become confused when one of us plays an insider’s game well enough to have a real chance of being the Ultimate Insider, reasons former Time columnist writer Jack White. Our uneasiness with Obama’s recent shift toward the political center is a symptom of this confusion, says White. Our discombobulation explains Jesse Jackson’s castration comment and criticism that Barack Obama talks down to Blacks instead of addressing the issues that really matter to us, White explains.

Of course, many of our GGMS readers took exception with Jackson’s comments and accused him of having what MSNBC analyst Kelli Goff has called “jealous Negro syndrome.” A number of readers who commented on this morning’s post said Jackson’s brand of leadership is obsolete, and he can’t adjust to world in which a Black man would have to represent everyone’s interests—not just ours.

But to White’s point, are African Americans really ready for this moment in history? A recent NiaPulse survey suggests that most Black women are optimistic enough to believe that Obama can go all the way. Of the 670 Black women we surveyed online last month, 71 percent said they believe that America is ready to elect its first African-American president. However, this optimism is actually at its lowest among the young. Two-thirds of 18-29 year olds said yes, while 34 percent either said no or they were not sure. By comparison, 76 percent of 30-39 year olds said yes, while 24 percent either said no or that they were not sure.

Maybe when older folks act a fool, it makes the young question whether we’re truly ready for a real change?

–Sheryl Huggins Salomon

Do you agree with White that some African Americans, like Jesse Jackson, are acting out because as a people we aren’t really ready for one of us to become President? Or can the old guard leadership adjust to a new political game? Share your thoughts below.

Oh, hot mic, hot mic! Fox News aired a clip of Rev. Jesse Jackson crudely criticizing Sen. Barack Obama’s recent speeches in Black churches about morality in an unguarded moment during a television interview when he thought his microphone was off.

“He’s been talking down to Black people on this faith-based…” complained Jackson in a whispered aside to Reid Tuckson, an executive vice president at United Health Group. Then the former Democratic presidential candidate said he wanted to, um, emasculate the current Democratic presidential nominee.

Naturally, Fox News ran with the slipup, airing it on “The O’Reilly Factor” this evening. Getting a jump on the controversy, Jackson had already apologized by this evening. “For any harm or hurt that this hot mic private conversation may have caused, I apologize,” Jackson said in a written statement, according to the Associated Press. ”My support for Senator Obama’s campaign is wide, deep and unequivocal.”

Despite the media uproar over the comments, the Obama campaign was not about to fall for Fox News’ divide-and-conquer gambit. Campaign spokesman Bill Burton said, “As someone who grew up without a father in the home, Sen. Obama has spoken and written for many years about the issue of parental responsibility, including the importance of fathers participating in their children’s lives….He will continue to speak out about our responsibilities to ourselves and each other, and he of course accepts Reverend Jackson’s apology.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who is a prominent Obama supporter, blasted his father’s remarks. “His divisive and demeaning comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee–and I believe the next president of the United States–contradict his inspiring and courageous career,” the younger Jackson said.

–Sheryl Huggins Salomon

Were Rev. Jesse Jackson’s comments about Barack Obama uttered out of jealousy, or is he correct in saying that Obama talks down to Black people? Share your thoughts below.

If you’ve seen a preview of their first-ever television interview on Access Hollywood, then you know that these potential first daughters are bright, engaging, adorable, and far more ladylike than the current First Daughters were when their dad first entered the White House.

Ten-year-old Malia said she is looking forward to changing a few things at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue if her father becomes President. “I enjoy decorating so I get this whole new (bed)room to do whatever I want,” she told Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos during an interview with the entire Obama family on July 4 (her birthday) in Butte, Montana. She and her seven-year-old sister would be the youngest children to live in the White House since Amy Carter arrived as a 9-year-old in 1981.

Was it risky to let two young children speak off the cuff at what was reported to be an impromptu interview? Well, Sasha let it slip that her dad does not like sweets. “He likes minty gum, not like bubble gum,” she scoffed.

Out of the mouths of babes. Lately accused of drifting to the right on several campaign issues, Barack couldn’t even claim the middle ground on this issue. “I’m pretty conservative when it comes to my gum,” he admitted.

Portions of the entire interview will be airing on Access Hollywood through Thursday, July 10.

–Sheryl Huggins Salomon

Did you catch any of the interview with the Obama girls? Share your thoughts about it below.