| "Barack the Magic Negro" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Paul Shanklin from the album We Hate the USA | |
| Released | September 23, 2008 (Discontinued by the manufacturer)[1] |
| Genre | Parody |
| Language | English |
| Label | Goes Around Records |
| Writer | Paul Shanklin |
"Barack the Magic Negro"[2] is a song by American political satirist Paul Shanklin who wrote and recorded it for the Rush Limbaugh Show as satire after it was first applied to presidential candidate Obama by movie and culture critic, David Ehrenstein, in a Los Angeles Times op ed column of March 19, 2007. It was played numerous times in 2007 and 2008 by Rush Limbaugh and appeared on the 2008 album We Hate the USA. It is sung by Shanklin to the tune of "Puff, the Magic Dragon". Shanklin impersonates black activist Al Sharpton, who regretfully sings that white people will vote for Barack Obama for President instead of Sharpton, because Obama is a magical Negro (a term previously popularized by Spike Lee[3]), not a real black man from the "hood".
Limbaugh was criticized and accused by some of racism for playing the song. The controversy eventually died down in regards to Limbaugh. It was reignited in December 2008, when Chip Saltsman, a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee, sent out CDs containing the song to 168 other RNC members as a Christmas gift, hoping to bolster his 2009 campaign for RNC chair. The move backfired, Saltsman dropped his bid to head the RNC, and ultimately African American Republican Michael Steele won the chairmanship.
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The magical Negro is an archetype which was first applied to presidential candidate Obama by movie and culture critic, David Ehrenstein, in a Los Angeles Times op ed column of March 19, 2007. According to Ehrenstein, the magical Negro is a non threatening black hero in the popular media, usually the cinema, who was invented to ease feelings of white guilt over slavery and racial injustice. He is noble and devoid of sexual motives, and appears suddenly, out of nowhere, to magically solve the problems of white people.
Ehrenstein opined that "Obama's fame right now has little to do with his political record or what he's written in his two books, or even what he's actually said". Rather, Obama was a popular contender for the presidency because whites were projecting their "fantasies of curative black benevolence" on him.[4]
Limbaugh began discussing Ehrenstein's op ed on the day it was published. He declared that "The term 'Magic Negro' has been thrown into the political presidential race in the mix for 2008" and sang a brief rendition of Barack the Magic Negro to the tune of "Puff, the Magic Dragon", anticipating the Shanklin song, which he began to air the following day. He said he would "own" the term by the end of the week.[5] Limbaugh played the song numerous times throughout the 2008 presidential election season. In response to criticisms[6] that the song had racist overtones, Limbaugh noted that he was not the first person to apply the magic Negro moniker to Obama, David Ehrenstein was.[7] Limbaugh also remarked that Ehrenstein had not been criticized for his op ed because he was a black man and a member of the liberal media establishment, therefore, double standards were being applied to conservative commentary.[5]
Black political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson, who is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Emerging Black GOP Majority", called the song "crass, tasteless, and race tinged, but ... accurate."[8] Camille Paglia of Salon.com called the song "very daring and funny", although she felt that Limbaugh had overplayed it.[9]
Al Sharpton discussed the song with a New York Times reporter and stated: "Limbaugh puts things in a way that he can’t be blamed for easy bigotry. Some of the songs he does about me just make me laugh. But he’s the most dangerous guy we have to deal with on the right".[10]
The song's lyrics, sung in a voice impersonating black activist and former presidential candidate Al Sharpton explicitly refer to Ehrensteins' article:
In the song, Sharpton's impersonated voice is made to sound as if coming from a bullhorn, a satirical nod to his well-known participation in street protests.[11]
In December 2008, Chip Saltsman, who was campaigning for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee mailed the song on a "Christmas CD" to fellow RNC members who would soon be selecting their new national chairman.[12]
On December 27, 2008, incumbent RNC chairman Mike Duncan publicly criticized Saltzman's mailing:
'The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party,' RNC Chairman Mike Duncan said in a statement reported Saturday afternoon by Politico. 'I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate, as it clearly does not move us in the right direction.' [13][14]
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich commented that "This is so inappropriate that it should disqualify any Republican National Committee candidate who would use it."[7] The chairs of the Republican state committees in North Dakota and Florida concurred.[15]
Peter Yarrow, co-writer of "Puff, the Magic Dragon", termed Saltsman's distribution of the CD "offensive" and "shocking"
'It is almost unimaginable to me,' Yarrow wrote in a statement sent to CNN, that Saltsman 'would seriously be considered for the top post of the Republican National Committee. Puff, himself, if asked, would certainly agree.'[13]
Saltsman defended the CD mailing as a joke [14] and said that he had believed it would be received in “good humor” by members of the Republican National Committee. Saltsman also defended himself by echoing some of Limbaugh's earlier arguments. He accused the media of bias, of holding him to a double standard compared with Ehrenstein: "liberal Democrats and their allies in the media didn't utter a word about David Ehrenstein's irresponsible column in the Los Angeles Times last March. But now, of course, they're shocked and appalled by its parody".[15]
Ken Blackwell, a black former Ohio secretary of state, and also a candidate for RNC chair, dismissed the controversy as "hypersensitivity".[7] Mark Ellis, chair of the Maine Republican Party, said the controversy was no "big deal". A GOP committeeman from Alabama declared it a false issue, a committee member from Oklahoma was certain Saltzman sent the gift innocently with no racial slur intended.[16]
Saltsman's campaign imploded as a result of the controversy, he withdrew from the race,[17] and Michael Steele, an African American was elected.[18]