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- Title
Barack Obama, Racial Progress, and the Future of Race Relations in the United States.
- Authors
ESPOSITO, LUIGI; FINLEY, LAURA L.
- Abstract
A plethora of articles in the mainstream press describe Barack Obama's presidential election as a clear sign of racial progress. While this optimism is, in many respects, well justified, we suggest that many of these discussions, although typically well intended, point to a type of racial progress that operates within the prevailing racial status quo by conflating racial equity with color blindness, racial tolerance, and what Time Wise has recently termed "enlightened exceptionalism." We argue that framing racial progress in this manner obscures the structural character of US racism and reinforces the reality of White privilege. We also address some of the problems associated with Obama's color-blind style of governance and conclude with a brief statement about the possibility for an anti-racist future in the United States.
- Subjects
UNITED States; OBAMA, Barack, 1961-; PRESIDENTS of the United States; RACE relations &; politics; EXCEPTIONALISM (Political science); POLITICAL philosophy; RACISM; POLITICAL correctness
- Publication
Western Journal of Black Studies, 2009, Vol 33, Issue 3, p164
- ISSN
0197-4327
- Publication type
Article