Obama tells NAACP blacks must take responsibility

[babsbunny]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_el_pr/obama_blacks

By GLEN JOHNSON and DAN SEWELL, Associated Press Writers
3 minutes ago



CINCINNATI - Democrat Barack Obama received a prideful welcome from the annual NAACP convention Monday night, but in a stirring speech to the nation's oldest civil rights organization, he nonetheless insisted blacks must show greater responsibility for improving their own lives.


The man who could become the first black president urged Washington to provide more education and economic assistance. He called on corporate America to exercise greater social responsibility. But he also received his most lusty applause as he urged blacks to demand more of themselves.

"If we're serious about reclaiming that dream, we have to do more in our own lives. There's nothing wrong with saying that," Obama told a crowd estimated at 3,000. "But with providing the guidance our children need, turning off the TV set and putting away the video games; attending those parent-teacher conferences, helping our children with their homework, setting a good example. That's what everybody's got to do."

[Skittles]

1. that's sound advice for all people n/t

[NOLALady]

2. He's right that blacks as well as whites must take

responsibility.

"It's not just a speech aimed at black audiences. It's aimed at all parents," Douglass said. Noting Obama also called for more corporate and government responsibility, she added: "This is a larger theme of responsibility.