Mixed Race Studies

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

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Category: Barack Obama

  • The Obama Paradox

    The Obama Paradox Slate 2017-01-09 Jamelle Bouie, Chief Political Correspondent Our first black president has an unyielding faith in the goodness of America. It got him elected. And it will cost him his legacy. The myth of Barack Obama usually begins with his speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and for good reason—it was…

  • A reflection on Barack Obama’s presidency

    Barack Obama’s presidency lurched between idealism and acrimony but some of his accomplishments will endure

  • The Blackwashing of President Obama’s Legacy

    The Blackwashing of President Obama’s Legacy The Root 2016-12-27 Daniel Johnson There is a deeply embedded danger in the collective black American consciousness to defend the cultural and political blackness of President Barack Obama. On the surface, his very presence  in the Oval Office is an act of political revolution, an unprecedented response to this…

  • My President Is Biracial

    My President Is Biracial Multiracial Media: Voice of the Multiracial Community 2016-12-27 TaRessa Stovall Atlanta, Georgia Remember that 2008 post-election rap anthem? “My President is Black; in fact, he’s half White So even in a racist mind he’s half right —Jay-Z and Young Jeezy’s “My President” That’s what runs through my mind as I read…

  • ‘Barry’ or How Barack Obama Learned to Stop Worrying and Love His Blackness

    ‘Barry’ or How Barack Obama Learned to Stop Worrying and Love His Blackness The Daily Beast 2016-12-20 Marlow Stern, Senior Entertainment Editor Netflix The new Netflix film ‘Barry’ explores young Obama’s days at Columbia University, torn between the world of his rich white girlfriend and the African-American community. There’s a scene in Dreams From My…

  • On the First Asian-American President

    On the First Asian-American President Vogue 2016-12-21 Eric Chang Given the poise with which Barack Obama has taken on his role as president (measured here at minimum by the absence of personal scandal, gaffes, or brushes with death via pretzel), it’s easy to forget how difficult it was to imagine a figure even approximately like…

  • Honor and Effort: What President Obama Achieved in Eight Years

    Honor and Effort: What President Obama Achieved in Eight Years TIME 2016-12-22 David Von Drehle Brendan Smialowski—Getty Images Barack Obama smiles while speaking during the 36th annual National Italian American Foundation Gala on Oct. 29, 2011. Barack Obama entered the White House as something new in American history. He wasn’t chosen on the basis of…

  • How Barack Obama Failed Black Americans

    How Barack Obama Failed Black Americans The Atlantic 2016-12-22 William A. Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics; Director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity Duke University The country’s first black president never pursued policies bold enough to close the racial wealth gap. Born…

  • Walsh says race backlash in part led to Trump win

    Walsh says race backlash in part led to Trump win The Boston Globe 2016-12-20 Meghan E. Irons, Reporter Mayor Martin J. Walsh, taking on a contentious issue rippling across the country, said Tuesday that he believes the election of Donald Trump was in part due to a backlash against the nation’s first black president. “I…

  • How Obama’s unique background shaped his outlook on race

    How Obama’s unique background shaped his outlook on race PBS NewsHour 2016-12-21 Judy Woodruff, Co-Anchor & Managing Editor The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates has criticized President Obama’s policies toward black Americans. Perhaps for that reason, he was invited to discuss such issues with Mr. Obama several times throughout the president’s second term. As part of a…