{"id":33321,"date":"2014-07-25T04:22:16","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T04:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mixedracestudies.org\/wordpress\/?p=33321"},"modified":"2017-02-23T16:43:54","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T16:43:54","slug":"race-and-the-obama-phenomenon-the-vision-of-a-more-perfect-multiracial-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mixedracestudies.org\/wp\/?p=33321","title":{"rendered":"Race and the Obama Phenomenon: The Vision of a More Perfect Multiracial Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

Race and the Obama Phenomenon: The Vision of a More Perfect Multiracial Union<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

University Press of Mississippi<\/a>
\n2014-07-17
\n432 pages
\n6 X 9 inches
\n3 B&W photographs
\nHardcover ISBN: 9781628460216<\/p>\n

Edited by:<\/p>\n

G. Reginald Daniel<\/a><\/strong>, Professor of Sociology
\nUniversity of California, Santa Barbara<\/em><\/p>\n

Hettie V. Williams<\/a><\/strong>, Lecturer of African American History
\nMonmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Essays that explore how the first black president connects to the past and reimagines national racial and political horizons<\/em><\/p>\n

The concept of a more perfect union remains a constant theme in the political rhetoric of Barack Obama<\/a>. From his now historic race speech to his second victory speech delivered on November 7, 2012, that striving is evident. \u201cTonight, more than two hundred years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward,\u201d stated the forty-fourth president of the United States upon securing a second term in office after a hard fought political contest. Obama borrows this rhetoric from the founding documents of the United States set forth in the U.S. Constitution and in Abraham Lincoln\u2019s<\/a> \u201cGettysburg Address<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

How naive or realistic is Obama\u2019s vision of a more perfect American union that brings together people across racial, class, and political lines? How can this vision of a more inclusive America be realized in a society that remains racist at its core? These essays seek answers to these complicated questions by examining the 2008 and 2012 elections as well as the events of President Obama\u2019s first term. Written by preeminent race scholars from multiple disciplines, the volume brings together competing perspectives on race, gender, and the historic significance of Obama\u2019s election and reelection. The president heralded in his November, 2012, acceptance speech, \u201cThe idea that if you\u2019re willing to work hard, it doesn\u2019t matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like . . . . whether you\u2019re black or white, Hispanic or Asian or Native American.\u201d These essayists argue the truth of that statement and assess whether America has made any progress toward that vision.<\/p>\n

Contributions by Lisa Anderson-Levy, Heidi Ardizzone, Karanja Keita Carroll, Greg Carter, Frank Rudy Cooper, Marhsa J. Tyson Darling, Tessa Ditonto, David Frank, Amy L. Heyse, David A. Hollinger, George Lipsitz, Mark McPhail, Tavia Nyong’o, David Roediger, Paul Spickard, Janet Mendoza Stickman, Paul Street, Ebony Utley, Ronald Waters<\/p>\n

Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n