The year started out on a note that was surprising to most Americans as then Senator Barack Obama began his assent in the presidential primary race. The somber warnings of black mothers and fathers began to fade from their children’s minds and were replaced with the belief that the highest political challenge could be overcome in their time. As his campaign gained momentum, however, the greatest, most direct obstacle to President-elect Obama’s primary victory came not from the feared Bradley effect some were sure would infect the majority of moderate Democrats, but from the words of his former preacher and spiritual leader, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

When the recordings of Rev. Wright first surfaced, the only thing I found appalling was the fact that someone was using them in an overtly racist fashion. When one reviews the four- to ten-second sound bites shown, all the Sheppard’s castigate is the actions and policies of a government. Never did he single out any ethnic or religious groups as many Republican leaders have by enhancing the titles of terrorists through unpacking the overly descriptive adjective of “Islamofasist” terrorists. Nor did he point to a specific region or particular political party within the United States. But the reaction to his comments were as thought the reverend held a map of only Red States in one hand and a framed portrait of the Keaton’s in the other during his denouncement. So I was pleased and encouraged when the candidate not only smothered the growing social fears of those unfamiliar to the average Sunday morning speech of black preachers (which, I assure you, did not stop with the end of the campaign,) but addressed the issue of race in a way no political figure has been brave and/or eloquent enough to do in my brief lifetime.

Then, our next president’s attempts to bridge a divide were burned and its ashes were kicked by the same man he refused to break from. Rev. Wright, a man who has committed his life to working and improving the community that Obama served in as an organizer and politician, seemed to want to make his congregant’s career more difficult and divide the nation for no other reason than the fact that his feelings were hurt and his beliefs were challenged. By personalizing the schism between himself and Obama in the media, Rev. Wright placed his pain and desire to be vindicated above the possibilities of what he could do for the citizens of his church, the south side of Chicago, and the suffering of the nation’s poor and disadvantaged as a whole who, unfortunately, continue to be made up mostly of citizens of color.

In the nation’s marriage to the Obama’s as our first family, the Rev. Jesse Jackson decided to serve “Scandal Old” to Rev. Wright’s “Scandal New.” To me, Rev. Jackson has always had the aura of a great-uncle; distant, yet enduring, and keeper of all of the family secrets. Growing up in California, my father hung a homemade button from a 1980’s convention where Jackson spoke at a podium and my father, in a three-piece suit and an Afro, stood proudly behind him. I paired this image with that of the local activist I found still busy in today’s troubled and swiftly gentrifying Chicago. History come to life.

Then in July, Rev. Jackson reminded us all why his run for the highest office in the land never got off the ground as he was caught off-guard demeaning Obama’s remarks at a recent Father’s Day event and sharing a longing to maim him. The shear amount of irony in this one slip of the tongue is bafflingly disappointing. While one might be more incline to forgive Jackson’s whispered remarks before Wright’s outwardly broadcast ones, he whispered them on Fox News, a place where the same rules of flight in Neverland apply in order to have productive interviews. In his anger, Jackson chose a way of harming someone that was used to degrade and humiliate victims of lynching in Jim Crow south.

Now as the country prepares for a day that was anywhere from 2 to over 200 years in the making (depending on individual viewpoints,) a third obstacle from the black community has set up a road block. Roland Burris, former Attorney General of the state of Illinois and former National Executive Director of Operation PUSH, a group that is now a part of Rev. Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition (please see earlier statement on the quantity of irony,) has been selected to fill the US Senate seat once held by Obama under the questionable authority of the federally indicted governor, Rod Blagojevich.

It must be said that as of the publication of this story, Mr. Burris has not been proven to be a part of any illegal or unethical activity, including the allegations which surround the governor. However, in anticipation that there would be problems pushing forth the appointment, Congressman Bobby Rush, representative of a district which includes Chicago’s south side, made a statement at the press conference announcing the decision which alluded to the fact that the Burris appointment would be the only way to keep black representation in the Senate. Using the terms “…hang or lynch…,” he indicated that any form of resistance to this appointment would be a battle fought on the ground cradling the warriors Rush, Jackson, and Wright stood beside to make this a country of limitless possibilities for all.

Of all the incidents of 2008 that reflect on the black community, the shameful circus Mr. Burris has created is the most damaging and degrading. Since his inaugural press conference, he has gone on every available form of media saying that he is not the one who is under investigation, ergo he deserves this appointment. What Mr. Burris has done, conversely, is allow an alleged criminal to use his race as a divisive implement to turn public attention away from his crimes. He has allowed his lust for a Senate seat to override his commitment to the people of Illinois he claims to care for. If he were as qualified as he says he is, he would be the first person selected by either the people in a special election or by an acting governor, instead of sliding in on a deal made at Blagojevich’s crossroads. 2008 showed that people want more from the leaders than competence and experience. They also need to know the show the quality judgment, which Mr. Burris has proven he lacks.

I fully admit that I share Rep. Rush’s commitment to more diversity the senate. But does it not dishonor all of Rush’s work as a Black Panther to allow someone else to work you because of your skin? And if he disagrees, why Roland Burris? As long as we are boiling people down to their base parts, why not a black woman? One of my personal choices would be Sun-Times journalist Mary Mitchell, who is respected, committed to the black community, and has a history of speaking truth to power with or without love. Better yet, why worry about obscure limits like state borders? If we expand our search, the possibilities for qualified leaders of color are virtually limitless. Then we could finally put Dr. Cornel West’s brilliant social theories and positive temperament to use in the development of laws and public policy. The only problem with a Mitchell and West appointment is they are wise enough to know–and care–when they are being hustled.

There is a term my father introduced me to as a teenager at the dinner table. It was popularized in the mid-nineties by Chris Rock (another figure I might consider for my appointee list.) As the head of the house, it was known that Dad got the big piece of chicken. It had nothing to do with subsistence, as a good father would never let you starve. It was about the family showing we appreciated everything that was done for our well being. It was about love and honor.

It is for these virtues that I write this in hope. 2008 proved that the leadership void in the black community has been blown wider than ever before. As people throw around the term ‘Post-race America,’ they seem to ignore the fact if this place exists, there should have risen a wealth of post-racial leaders. But I have yet to see this groundswell of figures asking why it was the two largest groups of people who voted for Proposition 8 in California, a measure to limit people’s freedom, were white Evangelicals and blacks. I do not hear anyone discussing why black college enrollment rates continue to rise as black college completion rates stay stagnant. And it seems that the villains of my generation are the heroes of my father’s and I am left burdened with the weight of the honor I desperately want to bestow on the worthy. May 2009 bring us a reason to lighten our loads.