I wonder how willing obama will be to take on black issues? it already seems that he is unwilling to give much support to his long time friend and pastor jwright? With all the white support we will early on find out what his motives are.

i am afraid that black America best be ready for the real obama who talks out of both sides of his mouth. growing up in hawaii did not give him any inkling of what black life in America was like.

gonna be interesting to say the lease...

Help me out. Give me a list of, let's say, the top five "Black issues".

Here's a review by a person who participated in the last STATE OF THE BLACK UNION get-together. (taken from SOBTU comment site)

"So the question now is, What next? Tavis and Raymond Brown did a good job of moderating but if a concrete agenda is to be formed out of this forum on Saturday, I feel for Black America. All of the emotionalism, evasive answers, confuion, rap and clap show and more was more of a diversion and division than anything else. Min. Farrakhan and Tavis suggested there be a meeting behind closed doors. If so, who will show up and will anything substantive come out of that? We, Black America, should all be able to get a copy of this agenda. The agenda should be focused solely on Black America and not white women, people of color or minorities. It should only be a few from those three panels involved with the crafting of the agenda. Dr. Claud Anderson, whom Tavis has continuously snubbed for a seat on these forums would be an ideal person to help in crafting it. Tavis should, if he would only be bold enough, solicit his services as the Detroit City Coucil had this past summer.
These panels must get beyond the song and dance! If not, then Tavis just needs to stop doing them before he even gets to a 10th annual one!"

So, at a meeting (that people insist was some substantive meeting that Obama should have attended) the 'best' African-American minds could come up with NO cohesive agenda about anything!

Actually, the only group considered to have suggested anything close to a cogent agenda happens to be a close friend of Obama and member of his church (former),
Jawanza Kunjufu and, I believe, Dorothy Heights.

Their focus is on or children.

The only thing black about the SOTBU is raving and ranting and frothin at the mouth about white horrors of the past. Remember, the Sankofa bird only LOOKS backwards, it flies FORWARD.

Outside of that the same issues surface each year, EDUCATION, JOBS, CRIME. URBAN RENOVATION.

Is there some specific 'black' thing that I'm missing? Help me out with this.

my point is that there is no clear agenda. No one can help us with Education, quality jobs fall in line with Ed. and Crime again is within our power.

Realistically do you think that black people have expectations of this black president.

These points you brought our are great...lets see in 2010 if there will be clear reasoning among us on the matters.