One of Garvey’s main desires was for our black ancestors to go back to Africa. When Garvey was leading his movement, much of the world was organized into European empires. Garvey wanted our black ancestors to leave these colonies and the white controlled nations of America and others and go back to Africa. Not only was this an unrealistic dream - it was also naïve.

First of all, there was no way the European colonial powers were going to allow such an exodus to happen. Anybody in Garvey’s day could have seen than. However, and this is the more important point, our black ancestors themselves did not want to go back. Garvey’s call for blacks to be repatriated to Africa was seen by most as crazy.

Indeed, even while he was still alive, many blacks were actually flocking to America, Latin America and elsewhere for a better life. Most blacks thought that Africa was no place to live and that it was better to make something in the heaven that was America and the West than to die in the hell that was Africa.

Today, decades later, Garvey’s call for black repatriation is being totally ignored. We continue to forsake our black homelands in droves for a better life in the white man’s land. It is interesting to note that there are no black repatriation movements in Europe or North America - a telling testament to Garvey’s pipe dream. Garvey failed to see the obvious - black repatriation could never happen.

One way that Marcus Garvey hoped to strengthen his case was to establish black-owned business. Largely through his efforts, many enterprises were begun - like his shipping and newspaper business, among others. Yet, within a relatively short time, these failed. The ships that he bought, for instance, were old and of little use.

Garvey was not the most educated person in his movement, yet, his business failures was not due to his relative lack of education. Garvey failed at business because did not like taking advice. He did not even like it when anyone criticized him. What kind of a leader was Garvey if he refused to take advice? A great leader, as I said before, was one who was willing to follow, and Garvey was no follower.

However, what convinces me the most that Garvey was not a good leader was his lack of understanding of us, his own people. Garvey preached, “Up you mighty race, you can accomplish what you will”. What on Earth was he talking about?

When Garvey made that demand most of our countries were under colonial control. Garvey, therefore, must have been directing this call to future generations. The generation of black people of his time were certainly not great - great peoples don’t find themselves being controlled by others. However, why did he think that future generations of black people would do better? He did so because he was confusing what was desired with what was possible. Garvey’s perception of the blackman’s future was very wrong indeed.

For any people to be great, that people must excel in three areas - governance, science and technology. If Garvey had done a serious analysis of the state of the blackman up to his time, he would have seen our complete lack of mastery in these critical areas. A careful look by Garvey would have revealed that we had never, at least in the recent past, be able to. Indeed, this was why the blackman of his day was mostly a colonist! Based on that trend, Garvey should have realized that greatness for the blackman, if at all possible, was many, many generations away.

Sometime before World War Two a senior British colonial official said that the black colonies of Africa and the Caribbean would not be ready for self-government for another half century. Half a century is more than enough time for a people to transform into greatness. After almost seventy years since Garvey’s death, history was to prove that that British official was right and that Garvey was mostly a dreamer.

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For those who thought Obama’s decisive victory was akin to winning the mother of all battles must now come to term with the fact the road ahead represents an even steeper hill to climb. An economy in turmoil. An unpopular war in Iraq. A conflict in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda. Declining public education. AIDS. Jobless Americans. Where does Obama begin? One thing is for sure, however, expectation is high, and many of us will undoubtedly fall victim to disappointment from the stumbles Obama will likely encounter in the very near future. And stumble he will; the enormity of the challenges ahead certainly assures us of that. Those who came before him like Washington, Adams and FDR would quickly attest to that. But Obama only needs to look to Clinton, Bush or Carter for a mere taste of what’s likely to come.

Without a doubt, however, disappointment for many will come when the flawed Obama is finally unmasked. To some, Obama has become a messiah: unworthy of the scrutiny we expect of presidential candidates or a President. As a person of color, one can certainly understand the need to become overly protective of those deserving of our admiration. It is an undisputed fact that our heroes are few and the stake for Obama could not have been any higher. Were the media biased in a manner never before seen in an election cycle? Yes! And Obama was the beneficiary. Should some blacks seek atonement for the vitriolic language cast upon fellow people of color who did not support Obama? Absolutely!

It was wrong to brand Bill Clinton a racist for comments he made about Jesse Jackson in North Carolina during the primary, as it is equally wrong to label Jessie Jackson insincere or a hypocrite for shedding tears during Obama’s victory speech. Jessie Jackson walked along side Martin Luther King. For that reason alone, he should be given the benefit of the doubt. The mere notion that Bill Clinton is a racist is as absurd as it is offensive. The fact of the matter is that with the exception of Lincoln, President Clinton has done more for blacks in this country than any other President. He appointed more blacks to his cabinet than any of his predecessors. And more minorities became homeowners during his administration that any other time in history. Hillary Clinton is a leader of great intellect and tenacity. One who is deserving of equal respect. Whatever your opinion of Sara Palin, we should never abide blatant sexism.