Governmental Help?

Barack Obama will be, in a little less than 6 weeks, the next president of the United States of America. It goes without saying that his election is a major milestone in our history. Notice I say "our", this is our history, Barack is going to be our president. His ascent to the highest position of political power in the world shows and is showing that perhaps our society is not as racist as some may think. It may also cause some to question preferential treatment as relates to race. Then again it may not.

And now, a discussion of governmental aid, handouts, bailouts, etc. is in order. For you see, Barack Obama, whether you disagree with his politics or not, succeeded without said aid. In fact much has been made of his flip-flopping on public funding during his campaign. Barack's campaign succeeded because he fund raised his own capital, without government's (at least not our own...China?) help. There seems to be a lesson to be learned, so MC did some research of some well known African-American public figures, i.e. Congressman Charles Rangel, Oprah Winfrey, Thomas Sowell, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, and Martin Luther King. As far as can be determined from the information about the backgrounds of these individuals, they all prospered and gained prominence without handouts, welfare, or the like. So why is it that most of the above personalities campaign or campaigned for race-based preferential treatment and welfare programs both in the workplace and home?