The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People just turned 100 years old. While many people of color are happy about the election of the first man of color as President of the United States, racial inequalities are still very visible in American society.

President Obama’s speech at the centennial ceremony can be described as tough love to his own people, a reminder that having a black president does not end injustices and discrimination. The NAACP still has a long fight ahead, even though the older generation of its leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Harry Bellafonte have witnessed the reward of their fight for justice.

President Obama was elected as President of the United States, not President of Black People. His encouragement and inspiration to people of color will not be enough to lift black people. Blacks need to believe in themselves and fight problems that they face: blacks killing blacks, education, and poverty. President Obama cannot by himself change black people. As the Annang people of Nigeria say, “A razor may be sharper than an ax, but it cannot cut wood.”