The 2008 presidential election was celebrated around the world as a seminal moment in U.S. political and racial history. White liberals and other progressives framed the election through the prism of change, while previously acknowledged demographic changes were hastily heralded as the dawn of a "post-racial" America. However, by 2011, much of the post-election idealism had dissipated in the wake of an on-going economic and financial crisis, escalating wars in Afghanistan and Libya, and the rise of the right-wing Tea Party movement. By placing Obama in the historical context of U.S. race relations, this volume interrogates the idealized and progressive view of American society advanced by much of the mainstream literature on Obama. Barack Obama and the Myth of a Post-Racial America takes a careful look at the historical, cultural and political dimensions of race in the United States, using an interdisciplinary analysis that incorporates approaches from history, political science, and sociology. Each chapter addresses controversial issues such as whether Obama can be considered an African-American president, whether his presidency actually delivered the kind of deep-rooted changes that were initially prophesised, and whether Obama has abandoned his core African-American constituency in favour of projecting a race-neutral approach designed to maintain centrist support. Through cutting edge, critically informed, and cross-disciplinary analyses, this collection directly addresses the dimensions of race in American society through the lens of Obama’s election and presidency.

From the publisher. The Myth of Post-Racial America provides a history of race and racism in the United States. These concepts became integral parts of American society through social, psychological, and political decisions, which are documented here so readers can learn learn about the origins of myths and stereotypes that have created schisms in our society form its founding to the present day. This information is essential reading for students and teachers so that they can become more effective in their work and value cultural differences, modes of expression, and learning styles.

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.

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.

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.

Could this be the final victory for civil rights, or the first of many to come? When Henry Louis Gates spoke out about his ridiculous arrest, he stated a truth few Americans?including President Obama?are eager to discuss: there is no such thing as a post-racial America. When it comes to race, the United States has come a long way, but not far enough and not fast enough. Every day, we cope with casual racism, myriad indignities, institutional obstacles, post-racial nonsense, and peers bent on self-destruction. The powers that be, meanwhile, always seem to arrive with their apologies and redress a day late and a dollar short. This book takes a close look at the lives of African-Americans from diverse backgrounds as Obama?s victory comes to play a personal role in each of their lives. Every tale delves into the complex issues we will have to deal with going forward: The many challenges young black men face, such as subtle persistent racism The stagnation of blacks vis ? vis whites Widespread black participation in the military despite widespread anti-war sentiments The decline of unions even as organized labor becomes the primary vehicle for black progress The challenges of interracial families The lack of good schools or healthcare for the poor The inability of well-off blacks to lift up others Barack Obama will deliver his first official State of the Union address in January 2010, and A Day Late and a Dollar Short will deliver an altogether different picture of the way things really under the first black president.

In 1656, a planter in colonial Maryland tortured and killed one of his slaves, an Angolan man named Antonio who refused to work the fields. Over three centuries later, a Detroit labor organizer named Simon Owens watched as strikebreakers wielding bats and lead pipes beat his fellow autoworkers for protesting their inhumane working conditions. Antonio and Owens had nothing in common but the color of their skin and the economic injustices they battled—yet the former is what defines them in America’s consciousness. In A Dreadful Deceit, award-winning historian Jacqueline Jones traces the lives of these two men and four other African Americans to reveal how the concept of race has obscured the factors that truly divide and unite us. Expansive, visionary, and provocative, A Dreadful Deceit explodes the pernicious fiction that has shaped American history.