Post-Racial or Most-Racial?

Post-Racial or Most-Racial? PDF Author: Michael Tesler
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022635315X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
When Barack Obama won the presidency, many posited that we were entering into a post-racial period in American politics. Regrettably, the reality hasn’t lived up to that expectation. Instead, Americans’ political beliefs have become significantly more polarized by racial considerations than they had been before Obama’s presidency—in spite of his administration’s considerable efforts to neutralize the political impact of race. Michael Tesler shows how, in the years that followed the 2008 election—a presidential election more polarized by racial attitudes than any other in modern times—racial considerations have come increasingly to influence many aspects of political decision making. These range from people’s evaluations of prominent politicians and the parties to issues seemingly unrelated to race like assessments of public policy or objective economic conditions. Some people even displayed more positive feelings toward Obama’s dog, Bo, when they were told he belonged to Ted Kennedy. More broadly, Tesler argues that the rapidly intensifying influence of race in American politics is driving the polarizing partisan divide and the vitriolic atmosphere that has come to characterize American politics. One of the most important books on American racial politics in recent years, Post-Racial or Most-Racial? is required reading for anyone wishing to understand what has happened in the United States during Obama’s presidency and how it might shape the country long after he leaves office.

Post-Racial or Most-Racial?

Post-Racial or Most-Racial? PDF Author: Michael Tesler
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022635315X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book

Book Description
When Barack Obama won the presidency, many posited that we were entering into a post-racial period in American politics. Regrettably, the reality hasn’t lived up to that expectation. Instead, Americans’ political beliefs have become significantly more polarized by racial considerations than they had been before Obama’s presidency—in spite of his administration’s considerable efforts to neutralize the political impact of race. Michael Tesler shows how, in the years that followed the 2008 election—a presidential election more polarized by racial attitudes than any other in modern times—racial considerations have come increasingly to influence many aspects of political decision making. These range from people’s evaluations of prominent politicians and the parties to issues seemingly unrelated to race like assessments of public policy or objective economic conditions. Some people even displayed more positive feelings toward Obama’s dog, Bo, when they were told he belonged to Ted Kennedy. More broadly, Tesler argues that the rapidly intensifying influence of race in American politics is driving the polarizing partisan divide and the vitriolic atmosphere that has come to characterize American politics. One of the most important books on American racial politics in recent years, Post-Racial or Most-Racial? is required reading for anyone wishing to understand what has happened in the United States during Obama’s presidency and how it might shape the country long after he leaves office.

Obama's Race

Obama's Race PDF Author: Michael Tesler
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226793842
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Barack Obama’s presidential victory naturally led people to believe that the United States might finally be moving into a post-racial era. Obama’s Race—and its eye-opening account of the role played by race in the election—paints a dramatically different picture. The authors argue that the 2008 election was more polarized by racial attitudes than any other presidential election on record—and perhaps more significantly, that there were two sides to this racialization: resentful opposition to and racially liberal support for Obama. As Obama’s campaign was given a boost in the primaries from racial liberals that extended well beyond that usually offered to ideologically similar white candidates, Hillary Clinton lost much of her longstanding support and instead became the preferred candidate of Democratic racial conservatives. Time and again, voters’ racial predispositions trumped their ideological preferences as John McCain—seldom described as conservative in matters of race—became the darling of racial conservatives from both parties. Hard-hitting and sure to be controversial, Obama’s Race will be both praised and criticized—but certainly not ignored.

The Obamas and a (Post) Racial America?

The Obamas and a (Post) Racial America? PDF Author: Gregory Parks
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019978129X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
The United States has taken a long and winding road to racial equality, especially as it pertains to relations between blacks and whites. When Barack Hussein Obama was elected as the forty-fourth President of the United States and first black person to occupy the highest office in the land, many wondered whether that road had finally come to an end. Do we now live in a post-racial nation? This volume contends that despite the election of the first black President and rise of a black American family as possibly the most recognized family the world over, race is still a very salient issue-particularly in the United States. But the prominence of the Obamas on the world stage and the positive image they project may hasten the day when America is indeed post-racial, even at the implicit level.

Nation of Cowards

Nation of Cowards PDF Author: David H. Ikard
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253007011
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
An argument for intense and organized activism from the African American community to generate discussion on race in the United States. In a speech from which Nation of Cowards derives its title, Attorney General Eric Holder argued forcefully that Americans today need to talk more—not less—about racism. This appeal for candid talk about race exposes the paradox of Barack Obama’s historic rise to the US presidency and the ever-increasing social and economic instability of African American communities. David H. Ikard and Martell Lee Teasley maintain that such a conversation can take place only with passionate and organized pressure from Black Americans, and that neither Obama nor any political figure is likely to be in the forefront of addressing issues of racial inequality and injustice. The authors caution Blacks not to slip into an accommodating and self-defeating “post-racial” political posture, settling for the symbolic capital of a Black president instead of demanding structural change. They urge the Black community to challenge the social terms on which it copes with oppression, including acts of self-imposed victimization. “A clarion call to our nation’s conscience. Free from overly academic jargon, but full of powerful wordplay and brilliant juxtapositions, this book is a fascinating tour de force from start to finish. Those seeking a clear and concise explanation of the state of African America and the ongoing need for a “black agenda” during—and even after—the administration of the first African American president need look no further.” —Reiland Rabaka, author of The Hip Hop Movement and Du Bois: A Critical Introduction “Nation of Cowards offers an analysis of the Obama administration is as thorough as it is compact. Here are the hard questions that must be asked of the first black presidency and an insightful draft of how history may regard it. Ikard and Teasley are well ahead of that curve.” —Jelani Cobb, author of The Substance of Hope:Barack Obama & the Paradox of Progress

White privilege

White privilege PDF Author: Bhopal, Kalwant
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1447335988
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Why and how do those from black and minority ethnic communities continue to be marginalised? Despite claims that we now live in a post-racial society, race continues to disadvantage those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Kalwant Bhopal explores how neoliberal policy making has increased rather than decreased discrimination faced by those from non-white backgrounds. She also shows how certain types of whiteness are not privileged; Gypsies and Travellers, for example, remain marginalised and disadvantaged in society. Drawing on topical debates and supported by empirical data, this important book examines the impact of race on wider issues of inequality and difference in society.

Ghosts of Jim Crow

Ghosts of Jim Crow PDF Author: F. Michael Higginbotham
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814737471
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
"Higginbotham provides a thoughtful and perceptive discussion on the role of race in America today. His keen legal analysis and compelling narrative has resulted in a fascinating examination of how far we have come as a nation, but more importantly, of how far we have to go." —Barbara A. Mikulski, U.S. Senator for Maryland When America inaugurated its first African American president, in 2009, many wondered if the country had finally become a "post-racial" society. Was this the dawning of a new era, in which America, a nation nearly severed in half by slavery, and whose racial fault lines are arguably among its most enduring traits, would at last move beyond race with the election of Barack Hussein Obama? In Ghosts of Jim Crow, F. Michael Higginbotham convincingly argues that America remains far away from that imagined utopia. Indeed, the shadows of Jim Crow era laws and attitudes continue to perpetuate insidious, systemic prejudice and racism in the 21st century. Higginbotham’s extensive research demonstrates how laws and actions have been used to maintain a racial paradigm of hierarchy and separation—both historically, in the era of lynch mobs and segregation, and today—legally, economically, educationally and socially. Using history as a roadmap, Higginbotham arrives at a provocative solution for ridding the nation of Jim Crow’s ghost, suggesting that legal and political reform can successfully create a post-racial America, but only if it inspires whites and blacks to significantly alter behaviors and attitudes of race-based superiority and victimization. He argues that America will never achieve its full potential unless it truly enters a post-racial era, and believes that time is of the essence as competition increases globally. F. Michael Higginbotham is the Wilson H. Elkins Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law. He is the author of Race Law: Cases, Commentary, and Questions.

Contesting the Myth of a "post Racial Era"

Contesting the Myth of a Author: Dorinda Carter Andrews
Publisher: Black Studies and Critical Thinking
ISBN: 9781433115189
Category : Discrimination in education
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Contesting the Myth of a 'Post Racial' Era brings together educational scholars across disciplines in higher education to reframe the discourse on race and racism in education in the Obama era and to explore structural, environmental, cultural, and political implications of race and racism in education. The volume gives explicit attention to contesting the myth of post-racialism in U.S. education by examining racial inequality across the K-16 spectrum, through examination of classroom practices, educational policies, educational research, and equity and access. Policy makers, educators, and academics with an interest in raising the achievement levels of students of color as well as access to greater opportunities will have interest in this book. It can be used for professional development at the K-12 and higher education level and for course adoption in college classrooms, particularly in programs and courses where race is an explicit area of study.

The Post-Racial Society is Here

The Post-Racial Society is Here PDF Author: Wilbur C. Rich
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136676597
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
In a provocative and controversial analysis, Wilbur C. Rich’s The Post-Racial Society is Here conclusively demonstrates that nation is in midst of a post-racial society. Yet many Americans are skeptical of this fundamental social transformation. The failure of recognition is related to the remnants of the previous race-based society. Recognizing the advent of a post-racial society is not to gainsay recurrent racial incidents or a denial of the socio-economic gap between the races. Using the findings of historians and social scientists, this book outlines why the construction and deconstruction of the race-based society was such a difficult and daunting enterprise. Starting from the nation’s inception, Rich examines how the nation elites used racial language, separate schools, and the media to divide Americans. After World War II, the nation used U.S. Supreme Court rulings and the Congressional passage of Civil Rights laws to dismantle the institutional support for racial segregation and discrimination. The black Civil Rights Movement facilitated and consolidated the movement toward socio-political inclusion of African Americans. Rich alerts the reader to the unprecedented progress made and why the forces of the new global economy demand that we move faster to make society more inclusive. This thought-provocking book should interest scholars of sociology, Africana Studies, American studies and African American politics.

Beyond Discrimination

Beyond Discrimination PDF Author: Fredrick C. Harris
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610448170
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
Nearly a half century after the civil rights movement, racial inequality remains a defining feature of American life. Along a wide range of social and economic dimensions, African Americans consistently lag behind whites. This troubling divide has persisted even as many of the obvious barriers to equality, such as state-sanctioned segregation and overt racial hostility, have markedly declined. How then can we explain the stubborn persistence of racial inequality? In Beyond Discrimination: Racial Inequality in a Post-Racist Era, a diverse group of scholars provides a more precise understanding of when and how racial inequality can occur without its most common antecedents, prejudice and discrimination. Beyond Discrimination focuses on the often hidden political, economic and historical mechanisms that now sustain the black-white divide in America. The first set of chapters examines the historical legacies that have shaped contemporary race relations. Desmond King reviews the civil rights movement to pinpoint why racial inequality became an especially salient issue in American politics. He argues that while the civil rights protests led the federal government to enforce certain political rights, such as the right to vote, addressing racial inequities in housing, education, and income never became a national priority. The volume then considers the impact of racial attitudes in American society and institutions. Phillip Goff outlines promising new collaborations between police departments and social scientists that will improve the measurement of racial bias in policing. The book finally focuses on the structural processes that perpetuate racial inequality. Devin Fergus discusses an obscure set of tax and insurance policies that, without being overtly racially drawn, penalizes residents of minority neighborhoods and imposes an economic handicap on poor blacks and Latinos. Naa Oyo Kwate shows how apparently neutral and apolitical market forces concentrate fast food and alcohol advertising in minority urban neighborhoods to the detriment of the health of the community. As it addresses the most pressing arenas of racial inequality, from education and employment to criminal justice and health, Beyond Discrimination exposes the unequal consequences of the ordinary workings of American society. It offers promising pathways for future research on the growing complexity of race relations in the United States.

Are We All Postracial Yet?

Are We All Postracial Yet? PDF Author: David Theo Goldberg
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745689752
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
We hear much talk about the advent of a “postracial” age. The election of Barack Obama as President of the U.S. was held by many to be proof that we have once and for all moved beyond race. The Swedish government has even gone so far as to erase all references to race from its legislative documents. However, as Ferguson, MO, and countless social statistics show, beneath such claims lurk more sinister shadows of the racial everyday, institutional, and structural racisms persist and renew themselves beneath the polish of nonraciality. A conundrum lies at its very heart as seen when the election of a Black President was taken to be the pinnacle of postraciality. In this sparkling essay, David Theo Goldberg seeks to explain this conundrum, and reveals how the postracial is merely the afterlife of race, not its demise. Postraciality is the new logic of raciality.