One of the things I miss most about Aaron McGruder's much-lamented comic strip "The Boondocks" is its annual "Most Embarrassing Black People Awards."

Huey and Riley would have enjoyed mocking the self-congratulation of the last few weeks beginning with the Rev. Jesse Jackson's tear-streaked face on election night. They would have reminded him of his muttered castration threat broadcast on Fox News a few months ago.

Forget the multicultural coalition that made Obama's win possible. The Freeman brothers would have considered the election a veiled mandate for all black people to do better. It would have been hilarious.

In the spirit of Huey and Riley Freeman, I submit these candidates for the Most Embarrassing Black People of the Year:

• Blacks who supported Proposition 8 in California. Black folks voted 2-to-1 to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry even as they were turning out in record numbers to vote for Barack Obama. Irony is definitely lost on this bunch. Can anyone say "Loving v. Virginia"?

• The Somali pirates. These khat-chewing, gun-toting thugs have turned the waters around the Horn of Africa into their own private piggy bank. They use high-tech gadgets to extort millions in ransom from hijacked vessels, but they can't be bothered to restore order to Somalia. These scoundrels aren't building institutions with their ill-gotten gain -- they're spending it on "bling" like second-rate rappers from Cali. Well, at least they know how to swim. They're defying stereotypes.

• Black conservative author Shelby Steele. Late last year, Mr. Steele published "A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win." In it, he argued for the benefit of the 20 people who bought the book that the president-elect's "liberalism" made it impossible for him to be elected by a plurality of blacks and whites. Mr. Steele stands by his argument. But if a paperback version is published, he says, the subtitle will be changed.

• The King family siblings. The children of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King are trading lawsuits over the management of the civil rights icon's estate. Millions in merchandising rights are at stake, so a dignified resolution is out of the question. Long-lost cousin Rodney King offered this advice: "Can't we all just get along?"

• Failed presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes. America's wackiest black conservative is suing in California Superior Court to block that state from awarding its cache of Electoral College votes to Barack Obama on the grounds that he isn't really an American citizen. Thank goodness we don't have to worry about getting tickets to the inauguration anymore.

• Bishop Thomas W. Weeks of Global Destiny International Ministries. The ex-husband of evangelist Juanita Bynum has fallen on hard times. Bishop Weeks' congregation was evicted from its Duluth, Ga., church for nonpayment of $400,000 in rent and fees. God told Bishop Weeks that he might have to get a real job if he can't find another congregation to give him a Cadillac and a roof over his head.

• Kanye West. The Grammy-winning rapper-producer recently declared himself "the voice of this generation." The previous holder of that title in the ego department offered Mr. West bus fare to Neverland to give him some much-needed perspective. Thanks, Michael.

• Black men who wear sagging pants. The president-elect refused to throw his support behind legislation to criminalize sagging pants in Texas, but he made it clear he's embarrassed by so many grown men walking around looking like babies ("Brothers should pull up their pants"). A whole segment of hip-hop is now feeling a chill as a result.

Honorary Embarrassing Black Person Who Went Where He Shouldn't Have:

• Former "good guy" Ralph Nader. Crushed by another close election loss for president, Mr. Nader said of Mr. Obama: "His choice, basically, is whether he's going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations." Does that make Ralph Nader the Bull Connor of the Progressive Left?

Evil Incarnate Terrorist Dude Who Wishes He Had a Few Black Friends:

• Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri compared Barack Obama unfavorably with Malcolm X. He then described him as a "house negro" for not immediately enslaving the white population.

Sigh. Some folks are never satisfied.