The Obama Phenomenon

by Henry, Charles P.; Allen, Robert L.; Chrisman, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780252078224
• ISBN10: 0252078225
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-09-28
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

Barack Obama's campaign and electoral victory demonstrated the dynamic nature of American democracy. Beginning as a special issue of The Black Scholar ,this probing collection illustrates the impact of "the Obama phenomenon" on the future of race relations within the United States through readings on Barack Obama's campaign as well as the idealism and pragmatism of the Obama administration. Some of the foremost scholars of African American politics and culture from an array of disciplines--including political science, theology, economics, history, journalism, sociology, cultural studies, and law--offer critical analyses of topics as diverse as Obama and the media, Obama's connection with the hip hop community, the public's perception of first lady Michele Obama, voter behavior, and the history of racial issues in presidential campaigns since the 1960s. Contributors are Josephine A. V. Allen, Robert L. Allen, Herb Boyd, Donald R. Deskins Jr., Cheryl Harris, Charles P. Henry, Dwight N. Hopkins, John L. Jackson, Maulana Karenga, Robin D. G. Kelley, Martin Kilson, Clarence Lusane, Julianne Malveaux, Shaun Ossei-Owusu, Dianne Pinderhughes, Sherman C. Puckett, Scharn Robinson, Ula Taylor, Alice Walker, Hanes Walton Jr., and Ronald Williams II.

Author Biography

Charles P. Henry is the H. Michael and Jeanne Williams Chair of African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Long Overdue: The Politics of Racial Reparations. Robert L. Allen is an adjunct professor of African American studies and ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Black Awakening in Capitalist America: An Analytic History. Robert Chrisman is the editor-in-chief and publisher of The Black Scholar.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Election
Toward a Multiracial Democracy: The Jackson and Obama Contributions	p. 15
Analysis of Black American Voters in Barack Obama's Victory	p. 34
Dead Certain: The Election of Barack Obama and Its Implications for Racial Politics	p. 60
What Trumped? Race, Class, Gender, Generation, the Economy, and the 2008 Elections	p. 82
Race, the Presidency, and Obama's First Year	p. 92
Under Press-ure: Overcoming the Media and Its Mavens?	p. 111
Opportunity Costs: The Impact of the 2008 Campaign on the Legacy of William Jefferson Clinton	p. 126
Culture
Lest We Forget: An open letter to my sisters who are brave	p. 143
The Ambivalent Embrace of Barack Obama: The Ethical Significance and Social Apprehension of Blackness	p. 148
Obama, Black Religion, and the Reverend Wright Controversy	p. 165
Race, Religion, and the Race for the White House	p. 181
The New Negro in African American Politics: Barack Obama and the Politics of Racial Representation	p. 200
Barack Obama's Anomalous Relationship with the Hip-Hop Community	p. 218
Too Black and Too Strong: First Lady Michelle Obama	p. 236
Policy
President Obama: Freedom Democrat or Neoliberal?	p. 253
Multicultural Hegemony: Globalization and the Obama Doctrine	p. 262
An Affirmative Act? Barack Obama and the Past, Present, and Future of Race-Conscious Remedies	p. 277
Epilogue: The Legacy of the Obama Era: A New Electoral Majority?	p. 311
Contributors	p. 315
Index	p. 319
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