The Black Presidency
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biracial identity, 35, 41–42, 43, 44, 45–46, 55–56, 89, 90
Key/”Luther” as anger translator, 226–27
presidential campaign/strategies (2012), 26, 141
presidential campaign/strategies (2007/2008), 5, 7–8, 15–16, 19–20, 21–22, 25–26, 33–34, 40, 46–47, 56, 58, 75–77, 118–19, 130, 170–71
representation meanings and, xi–xii
singing/“Let’s Stay Together” and, 69, 70, 303 n1
views of race, 46–47
on wife/daughters, 329 n1
See also language/rhetorical skills of Obama; race and Obama; speeches/statements by Obama
Obama, Barack, and attacks on
attacks on Holder/Rice and, 136–37
birthers, 78–79, 135–36, 138, 140–41, 250, 251
description/summaries, 4–5, 15, 28, 78–79, 90–91, 129, 134–35, 142, 200, 251–52, 289 n18
Ferraro and, 90–91
“Made in the USA” mugs and, 141
Martin killing and, 187
overview, 134–41
race and, 139–40
See also Tea Party
Obama, Barack, and Michelle
fist bump during campaign (2008), 73, 215, 304–05 n8
Pinckney eulogy and, 260
White House Correspondents’ Association Dinners, 73, 227
Obama, Malia, 60, 260
Obama, Michelle
on American views of/racism, 181, 214–15
charge of ingratitude against, 125–26
Jacksons and, 60
Obama, Sasha, 260
O’Reilly, Bill, 61–62
P
Palin, Sarah, 137
Parent PLUS loans, 166
Parks, Rosa, 246
Patrick, Deval, 55
patriotism
black Americans criticism and, 120, 121–25, 126, 151
“civic estrangement” and, 126
nationalism vs., 124–25
patriotism, and Obama
flag lapel pin and, 126–27
middle name and, 127–28
others questioning, 126–29, 151
Pledge of Allegiance, 128
speech at Truman Center (2008), 128–29
Peck, Edward, 92
Pell Grants, 160
Pendleton, Hadiya, 171
Petry, Ann, 192–93
Pfleger, Michael, Father, 115
Pinckney, Clementa, Reverend
background/murder, 241, 243, 260, 263
Obama’s eulogy/background, 255–71
Plante, Bill, 6
police and minorities
black girls/women and, 212–14
discrimination/murders and, 188–89, 191, 194–95, 196–98, 202–04, 206, 207–09
mainstream vs. minority community justice, 195
media and, 204–06
Obama and, 198–99, 202, 215–17, 218
parents talking with sons about, 197
racial profiling and, 190
terror and, 196–97, 208–09, 213–14
white/black perceptions and perspectives, 205–08
See also specific individuals
Powell, Colin, 40
presidents as symbolic fathers, 132–34
R
race
democracy and, 101–02
idea of, 302 n36
racism vs., 66–68
truths/untruths, 64–66
U.S. and (overview), ix–xv
race and Obama
in 2015, 249–54
black Americans status overview, 165–68
black failures/responsibility and, 13–14, 29–30, 31–32, 61, 63, 106, 157, 168–69, 170–71, 173–81, 183–86, 198–99, 200
black fathers and, 61, 63, 133, 136, 169, 170–71
Dyson interview, xvi, 154–55, 159–62, 253, 254
false equivalences, 106–11, 156
identifying as black, 43, 45, 46, 47, 67–68
NAACP convention (2015) speech/disparities, 249, 250–51
non-black activists and, 163
older generation of black leaders and, 53, 54–55
optimism on racial progress, 28, 30, 35, 41, 49, 116
Pinckney eulogy/background, 255–71
policies helping minorities (summary), 23
political reality/legislation and, 161–62, 163, 167
questioning his “blackness,” 35, 36–42, 58–59
targeted vs. broad-based strategies, 156, 157–65, 218
U.S. racial history and, 165
white responsibility/guilt and, 13, 157, 168
See also specific individuals; specific speeches/events
race riots, 180, 182, 211
racial bargainers, 287–88 n12
racism/discrimination
assassination of black leaders summary, 180, 181–82
black firsts and, 16
Black Wall Street, Oklahoma, 184
blacks talking about race and, 49–50, 51, 52–53, 257
colonialism/imperialism and, 123–24, 151
Confederate flag/images, 246, 256, 257–58, 262, 263, 266–67, 329–30 n2
description/summaries, 20–23, 24, 68, 84, 102, 107–08, 110–11, 120–21, 166–67, 231, 256–57, 259
gaps between whites/blacks summaries, 108, 166, 167
Hillary Clinton on, 244–46
housing discrimination/reform, 67, 166–67, 250, 255, 301–02 n35, 319–20 n16
micro-aggressions and, 10–11
post-racial myth/view, 12–13, 15, 47–49, 52–54, 64, 67–68
race vs., 66–68
“racial progress” and, 28, 30, 41, 50–51, 52, 85, 195–96, 202, 203
segregation/Jim Crow, 6, 48, 51, 59–60, 102, 107, 116, 131, 152, 167, 177, 178, 183, 228, 232, 241, 245, 247, 249, 253, 263, 266–67
slavery, ix, 6, 37, 48, 83–84, 100, 102, 109, 121–22, 131, 148, 152, 167, 169, 177, 183, 228, 241, 247, 249, 253, 259, 261–62, 263, 266
South Carolina history and, 261–62
successive generations and, 12–13, 206, 288 n16
white education and, 47
white privilege and, 108–09
See also specific components; specific events; specific individuals
Rangel, Charles, 174
rap and gangster images, 221
Reagan, Ronald, 2, 72, 92, 134, 138, 243, 304 n6
Reid, Harry, 78
Remnick, David, 45
Rice, Condoleezza, x, 79, 86
Rice, Susan, 136–37
Richards, Ann, 107
Riley, Joseph P., Jr., 263
Ritchie, Andrea J., 214
Robeson, Paul, 123, 150
Robinson, Jackie, 16, 236
Rock, Chris, xv, 50–51, 118–19, 130, 170–71, 283 n11, 311–12 n14
Roof, Dylann
murders of black parishioners, 220, 237, 240, 241, 257, 262–63, 268
race war plans and, 239, 240, 268
white supremacy views/hatred and, 220, 241–43, 246, 247–48, 256
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 133, 134
Rowan, Carl, 122–23
Rush, Bobby, 19
Ryan, April, 165
S
same-sex marriage/LGBTQ issues, 23, 24, 163, 225, 250, 255, 267
Sampson, Frederick, Reverend, 80
Say Her Name protests, 214
Scott, Walter killing
cell phone video and, 203, 208, 209
policeman and, 202–03, 206, 208
Selma (film), 1, 240
Selma to Montgomery, Alabama march/people (2015), 1–2, 6–7, 8–9
Selma to Montgomery, Alabama marches (1965), 1, 6
Sharpton, Al
background/activism, 2, 3, 54, 77, 95, 242, 259
Obama and, xiv, 4, 27–29, 54, 63, 64, 79, 180, 293 n47
presidential bid, 55, 77
Sherman, Richard, 238
Sherrod, Shirley, 157–58
Shuttlesworth, Fred L., Reverend, 240
Sister Souljah, 58
/>
60 Minutes, 27, 181
Slager, Michael
arrest of, 202–03
defending himself and, 206
killing unarmed motorist, 202, 209
Small Business Administration loans, 166
Smiley, Tavis, 28, 93
Smith, Sean, 137
Smitherman, Geneva, 77
Sotomayor, Sonia, 177
speeches/statements by Obama
on Brown’s death, 8, 14, 193, 194, 195–96, 198–99, 201, 253
Democratic National Convention (2004), 35, 53, 74–75
on individualism vs. help received, 264–65
interview for Maron/WTF, 247–49
June 2015/interruption by heckler, 225–26
March on Washington anniversary (2013), 180–83
on Martin/Zimmerman and verdict, 9–10, 11–12, 186–87, 193, 236
Morehouse College commencement address (2013), 177–79
on Pennsylvania whites, 185–86
in Philadelphia (March 2008), ix, 89–91, 183–84, 188, 201
Pinckney eulogy/background, 255–71
on race (summary), 273–75
Selma (2007), 7–8, 59
Selma (2015), 6–7, 8–9
at Truman Center (2008), 128–29
using the “N-word,” 247, 248
on ways to work through racial divide, 11–12
See also language/rhetorical skills of Obama
Stack, Carol, 42
Stahl, Lesley, 27
“stand your ground” law, 12
Stephens, Bret, 150
Stevens, J. Christopher, 137
Stone, Geoffrey, 5
Stono Rebellion, 261–62
Straight Outta Compton (film), 221, 326 n3
Street, The (Petry), 192–93
Substance of Hope, The (Cobb), 30
Sununu, John, 135
T
Taylor, Gardner, Reverend, 80
Taylor, Susan, 116
Tea Party
IRS and, 219
Obama and, 78–79, 109, 134–36, 138–40, 219
organization beginnings, 139
racism/bigotry and, 78–79, 134–35, 139–40, 251
Thatcher, Margaret, xiii–xv, 283 n6
“thug” label, 238–39
Tillet, Salamishah, 126, 312 n16
Tometti, Opal, 214
trips by Obama
Africa (2015), 250
Africa/blaming Africans and, 146–49, 150
Egypt, 144
in Europe/on flaws, 142–43
as face of the nation, 141
on Islam and West, 143–45
jobs tour (2011), 18
Turkey, 143–44
Trump, Donald, 135, 137
Tubman, Harriet, 83–84
Tuckson, Reed V., 61
Tupac, 131
Tuskegee experiment, 93
U
universality, 164, 316–17 n10
V
Vesey, Denmark, 241
Vietnam War
King and, 82–83, 104, 122–23
politicians’ avoiding active duty, 124
Vilsack, Tom, 158
Voting Rights Act (1965), 1, 8–9, 82, 137
W
Wall Street Journal, 150, 166
Wallace, George, 231
Wallace, Mike, 92
Washington, George, 14, 132
Washington Post, 21–22, 229
Waters, Maxine, 18–19, 174, 176–77
Watt, Mel, 18
West, Cornel, 26–27, 28, 29, 32, 162
West, Kanye, 54
White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner (2012), 69–70, 73–74
White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner (2015), 226–27
Wilson, Darren, 192, 193–94, 206, 253
Wilson, Joe, 136
Wilson, John, 21
Wilson, William Julius, 162–63
Wilson, Woodrow, 134
Winfrey, Oprah, 118–19
Wonder, Stevie, 118
Woods, Tiger, 44
Wright, Jeremiah, Reverend
background/description, 80, 83, 124
King and, 71, 81–82, 83, 84
military service, 124, 311 nn 11–12
Obama and, 80, 114, 261
Wright, Jeremiah, Reverend, and conflict
confrontation summary, 71–72
defenders of Wright, 92–93
description/words, 81, 83, 86–87, 91, 92–93, 124–25, 188
forgiveness knowledge and, 97–100
Obama’s early defense, 87, 88–89, 103, 115
Obama’s presidency and, 89, 93, 94–96, 112–13
Obama’s speech (March 2008), ix, 89–91, 183–84, 188, 201
prophets vs. politicians and, 93–97, 100–102, 112–14
white anger/fears and, 47, 86–87, 91, 171
Wright defending himself, 111–14
WTF podcast series, 247–48, 249
Y
Young, Andrew
background/activism, 3–4, 56, 57, 59, 286 n3
Clintons and, 57, 58, 59
Obama and, 3, 4–5, 56–58, 59
Young Jeezy, 59, 70, 73, 74
Z
Zimmerman, George
Cohen on, 229–30
killing Martin, 9, 22, 28, 74, 186, 229, 239
verdict (2013) and review, 9–10, 11, 187, 193, 229
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About the Author
MICHAEL ERIC DYSON is a New York Times op-ed contributor, a Georgetown University professor, an MSNBC political analyst, and the best-selling author of seventeen books, including the American Book Award–winning Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster.
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