Byron Allen is the focus of media attention for his comments regarding President Obama’s tenure. Allen is disappointed with the president and feels that Obama is little more than a “white president in blackface.”
Allen said:
Black America would have done much better with a white president. You have let us down tremendously.
He felt that the president failed the various groups of protesters responding to violence committed against black communities:
I’m disappointed that President Obama called those young men out there in Baltimore ‘thugs.’ I’m not condoning violence, but I don’t think we should call them thugs because we’ve positioned them to fail, and the system has failed them.
I say to President Obama, ‘You have to remember who you are. Don’t forget who you are.’
I have grave concerns against Obama because I feel that… it’s factual. Check the numbers. Black people have fallen further behind under President Obama. We’re being murdered in the streets, we’re being murdered in the courtroom, we’re being murdered in the boardroom. You’ve caught the biggest corporations using the N-word. You have to stand up at some point.
Facing scrutiny though, Allen has stuck to his guns, standing by his blackface statement. When asked if he would change the way he expressed his frustration with Obama, he said:
No, I wouldn’t. Because it’s harsh. And you know why I’m saying something that’s harsh? Because black life in America is harsh.
