Race in the Age of Obama: Volume 16

On a brisk day in Springfield, Illinois, an attractive African-American family stood on the steps of the Illinois Old State Capitol waving to a rapturous and diverse audience of Americans following the family's patriarch's announcement that he would run for the presidency of the United States of America. Standing in the shadows of the legislative building where he worked and the adopted hometown of President Abraham Lincoln who was known as the “Great Emancipator” of the slaves, the symbolism was lost on no one. By announcing his candidacy, he was entering one of the most competitive and diverse fields of presidential candidates in the history of the nation, including its first female and first Latino candidates. When the freshman Illinois senator, Barack Hussein Obama decided to make a bid for the presidency, many Americans were surprised and fascinated with the possibility of its first African-American leader. Older Americans, especially African Americans, had clear knowledge and some personal memories of the national history replete with the vestiges of slavery, the Civil War, and a failed Reconstruction Era in the forms of de jure segregation in the South and de facto segregation throughout the rest of the country. Despite the progress made as a result of the legislation emanating from the activism of the 1960s civil rights movement, this history created a socio-cultural narrative rife with prejudice, racism, and discrimination. Consequently, the nation's race relations narrative was fraught with the tensions between its majority and minorities.

Barack Obama's emergence as the leader of the world's most powerful nation stirred much enthusiasm in Africa. This article examines Obama's relationship to Africa and African reactions to Obama – spanning from the time of his election to the United States Senate to the current period of his role as president of the United States. Focusing specifically on Obama's Ghana speech and subsequent African policy initiatives, the article suggests that many Africans are disappointed with Obama's Africa policy and that this is the result of several misperceptions: misperceptions of Obama's power as US president, misperceptions of his moderate political world view, and misperceptions of his cosmopolitan identity as an individual of African ancestry.

Newspapers provide the context to how the public understands the role of race and gender in America. Both are portrayed commonly as having lost their power. Taking an intersectional approach, here I examine the role race and gender play in black newspaper coverage of Michelle Obama from August 2008 through July 2009. Analyzing 31 papers, gathered from Ethnic NewsWatch, I examine 175 articles, notes, and editorials that addressed the first lady in some capacity. Most narratives highlighted traditional first lady duties, her “family” values and fashion. Female reporters were focused on Obama's values and duties before the election, but emphasized her duties and looks after. Although from December, their reporting was more diffuse, having no particular focus, male reporters also focused on her duties pre-election, but values and looks were relatively unimportant. Race remained an important element in many narratives, especially for male reporters. It was mostly invoked in ways that were ceremonial and abstract, with little attention to the specific plight of black communities. In contrast, female reporters made the intersection of race and gender important (both before and after the election), and Obama's looks (particularly after). Overall, these papers were supportive; and they almost appear in awe of a black family in the White House. As a result, little attention was given to exploring how “change you can count on” would affect black America particularly.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and Michelle Robinson Obama are two First Ladies of the United States whose racial-ethnic, personal, and family characteristics made them the objects of inordinate public fascination. Using Patricia Hill Collins's concept, the “outsider within,” this chapter explores Kennedy and Obama's emergence as cultural icons and their marginal relationship with the white Protestant American governing class. As wives of presidents and specific to her generation, each woman brought superior professional credentials to their public roles. As cultural icons who differ from the white racial frame, they are subjected to excessive media scrutiny, evaluation, and supervision. Both women exercise cultural agency from their positions as cultural icons, particularly utilizing ceremonial activities and the power of the White House to oppose cultural erasure and exclusion of minority groups and to provide models of social inclusion. Analysis of their roles highlights the continuing importance of wives to the acquisition and maintenance of power and to the role of elites in offering models of social justice.

As the First Lady, Michelle Obama stated that she had a number of priorities but that the first year would be mainly about supporting her two girls in their transitions to their new life in the White House. Her choice to be mom-in-chief drew unusually intense and rather puzzling, scrutiny. The chapter briefly discusses the range of reactions along the political spectrum as well as African-American feminists’ analyses of the stereotypes of Black women underlying those reactions. This analysis engages the debates from a different perspective. First, the chapter addresses the under-theorizing of the racialized gender norms embedded in the symbolism of the White House and the role of First Lady. It challenges the presumption of traditional notions of true womanhood and the incorrect conclusion that mothering would preclude public engagement.

Second and most importantly, this chapter argues that there are fundamental misunderstandings of what mothering meant for Michelle Obama as African-American woman. Cultural traditions and socio-historical conditions have led Black women, both relatives and non-kin, to form mothering relationships with others’ children and to appreciate the interdependence of “nurturing” one's own children, other children, and entire communities. Those practitioners whose nurturing activities encompassed commitment and contributions to the collectivity were referred to as community othermothering. Using primary sources, this chapter examines in detail Michelle Obama's socialization for and her practice of community othermothering in her role as First Lady. Attention is focused on her transformation of White House events by extending hospitality to more within Washington, DC, and the nation, plus broadening young people's exposure to inspiration, opportunities, and support for setting and accomplishing their dreams. Similarly, the concept of community othermothering is also used to explain Michelle Obama’s reinterpretation of the traditional First Lady's special project into the ambitious “Let's Move” initiative to end childhood obesity within a generation. The othermothering values and endeavors have helped establish the White House as “the People's House.”

The emergence of Barack Obama as the President of the United States is analyzed in the context of theories of racial and ethnic relations. While it is true that social science theory did not predict this event, it is also true that the President's election must be seen in a historical context that has seen only one nonwhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant elected to the highest office in the land. Put differently, the chapter addresses why is it that other white groups have not occupied the highest office in the land? The chapter introduces the concept of “segregated diversity” to capture the crisis of theorizing in race and ethnic relations. Harold Cruse's ideas are utilized to bring some degree of order and understanding of the present issues of America and the realities of segregated diversity.

Purpose – Using Philadelphia as a case study, the chapter explores whether the city is poised to meet the Obama administration's goal of restoring the country's place to first in the world in college attainment. The chapter provides an overview of the national funding and policy contexts in which the president announced the college attainment goal, examines Philadelphia's efforts to improve high school and college graduation rates, and describes the challenges facing low-income students in disadvantaged neighborhoods who articulate college ambitions. The chapter ends with a set of policy recommendations to improve education outcomes in cities that struggle to educate their own.

Methodology/approach – At its core, the chapter uses interview and focus group data to understand college awareness in North Central Philadelphia. The study draws upon interviews and focus groups conducted with students, parents, teachers, program administrators and staffs, and other community stakeholders.

Findings – The data show that Philadelphia is unprepared to meet the president's challenge due to extremely low literacy rates and other significant barriers associated with poverty.

Research limitations/implications – It is a small qualitative study. Additional study designs can build upon the data collected.

Practical implications/originality/value of paper – The study provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities to improve education outcomes in Philadelphia.

In 1968, the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders stated that “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white, separate and unequal.” Forty years later, the first person of African ancestry was elected to the office of the presidency of the United States of America. Have we reached the post-racial, color-blind society that so many have struggled to attain for over 400 years? Have the racially divided views of blacks and whites finally converged? Does the election of Barack Obama provide proof of this convergence? This chapter addresses two questions: (1) In the Obama era, have racial differences in perceptions of racial inequality and justice converged, widened, or stayed the same and (2) Are differences in perceptions of racial inequality and justice primarily race-based, education-based, or both? Overall, our results suggest that (1) with respect to racial inequality and justice attitudes, race continued to be an important determinant of outlooks; (2) blacks at all educational levels continued to be more similar to other blacks with different educational attainments than to whites with educations similar to their own; (3) the black community did not undergo social and political polarization; and (4) socioeconomic standing did not become more important than race as a determinant of the social and political attitudes and outlooks examined. Because blacks have continued to endure conditions that differ from those of other Americans, they continue to apprehend the world in terms that differ from those of the mainstream even during the Obama era.

This chapter suggests that social justice for African Americans during the era of Obama presidency will advance less from what Mr. Obama does and more from what social scientists and others do. President Obama is not expected to provide much leadership on this issue for at least four reasons. First, presidents and other high-level elected officials do not tend to make policy without strong public advocacies for such policies. Second, Mr. Obama has put forth a universal rather than a targeted approach to dealing with issues concerning African Americans. Third, he is unlikely to use his bully pulpit to advance social justice for African Americans because he has been reluctant to use the bully pulpit to advance his major legislative agenda. And fourth, the Obama administration has made a habit of fumbling on teachable moments about race. See the missteps in the Henry Louis Gates affair, and the timidity in the Shirley Sherrod and the Van Jones affairs.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama campaigned for the office of President of the United States on a message of hope and change. Included in this message was an avowed commitment to fighting for equality and social justice. This chapter evaluates the Obama administration's record on social justice issues from a black feminist perspective. I find that although the administration has made some notable achievements, the universalist paradigm from which it operates may cause policymakers to overlook multiply oppressed groups. It might likewise blind them to the processes that generate and maintain social inequality. I argue that the results could hinder Obama from succeeding with much of his social justice agenda. I conclude by discussing how examining inequality through a black feminist prism would enable the Obama administration to speed up its program and develop and implement more effective policies. Finally, I also recommend a social justice project that might help the president create a legacy that will promote his goals long after he leaves office.

Purpose – This chapter is about the author's experience working for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the racial as well as race–gender dynamics of such work.

Methodology/approach – An autoethnographic analysis was conducted based on participant observation, primarily, door knocking in California and Texas and phone canvassing Americans across the country on a daily or weekly basis.

Findings – The fieldwork revealed the persistence of racially unequal discourse and stratification, not the workings of a post-racial society. While some Americans openly used the word “nig*er” or referenced lynching, more common were the coded forms of racism, such as the notion of “good” (Obama) versus “bad” Blacks. Also, terms like “Muslim” or “not-American” revealed a citizenship-based racism usually reserved for Asian Americans and Latinos now being levied against Black Americans. This more coded racialization hinged on a combination of subordinating Muslims as perpetual racial foreigners and fearing the “browning of America” brought on by immigration.

Research limitations/implications – As this study of a campaign assessed one point in time from an autoethnographic perspective, it is not generalizable to the United States. It, however, is an important window into the social processes involving race (and gender) when historic candidates and elections move the country in a direction it has never been to before and perhaps will never be to again.

Originality/value of paper – Although many scholars have done racial analyses of Obama's campaign and of our society's negotiation of race in relation to the man, few have conducted in-depth analyses from the vantage of a full-scale Obama campaign volunteer.

This chapter uses critical race theories to interpret Obama-related content and changing discourse patterns on discussion boards maintained by a pro-gun, overwhelmingly white, male, and conservative virtual community. Beginning during the 2008 presidential primary season and continuing through Barack Obama's election as president, our analysis focused on the proliferation of negative “nicknames” (“Obamathets”) that were posted in race-oriented discussion threads over 16 months. We identified three types of frequently voiced Obamathets: those indicating general dislike, political disdain, or racial derision, and we analyzed usage patterns – which types of Obamathets appeared and at which times. Our results revealed a changing state of mind – annoyance to extreme anger – among posters whose sense of racial threat seemed increasingly palpable as Obama approached, and eventually won, the presidency. Over time, posts increasingly included racially derisive terms whose incidence intensified after the election and remained high; racially derisive terms overtook terms of general dislike (that had been more popular) as well as terms of political disdain several months into our analysis. Because posters tended to be more openly libertarian in orientation, we doubt our findings would generalize to the majority of conservative whites; however, our findings probably shed considerable light on activist elements among conservatives, including the “Tea Party” movement. Moreover, capturing sentiments expressed in a semiprivate venue – virtual community discussion boards – probably allowed us to uncover less censored racial sentiment (or racetalk) than is typical when social scientists solicit racial opinions from whites in face-to-face interviews, when many may omit racially hostile thoughts to appear more racially sensitive to researchers.

Purpose – This study analyzes the rhetoric casting U.S. President Barack Obama in the role of betraying and undermining the nation because he seeks government policies supporting a social safety net, gay rights, abortion rights, and other progressive agendas.

Methodology/Approach – The analysis is based on sociological social movement theories, especially the interrelationship of ideology, frames, and narratives in understanding how activists take their ideas and turn them in to action. The power devaluation model of Rory McVeigh is applied to the construction of reality used by right-wing anti-Obama forces, especially those linked to the various Tea Party movements.

Findings – The most militant anti-Obama ideologues construct frames and narratives based on a dualistic worldview in which Obama and liberals in general are demonized and scapegoated for existing economic, social, and political problems.

Research limitations/implications – More scholarly research using statistical analysis of the views and demographics of Tea Party supporters is needed to provide a complete picture of this new social/political movement.

Practical implications – By showing that right-wing populists are basing their beliefs on a long history of similar frames and narratives, this study can help prompt a more constructive response by political opponents who wrongly demonize the Tea Party supporters and their allies as ignorant or crazy.

We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all of the authors who worked diligently to contribute to this volume. We are deeply grateful for your willingness to share your thoughts, ideas, and passions. Thank you for participating in an effort to leave an intellectual legacy for generations to come.