Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
A provocative and lively deep dive into the meaning of America's first black presidency, from "one of the most graceful and lucid intellectuals writing on race and politics today" ( Vanity Fair ).
Michael Eric Dyson explores the powerful, surprising way the politics of race have shaped Barack Obama's identity and groundbreaking presidency. How has President Obama dealt publicly with race--as the national traumas of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Walter Scott have played out during his tenure? What can we learn from Obama's major race speeches about his approach to racial conflict and the black criticism it provokes?
Dyson explores whether Obama's use of his own biracialism as a radiant symbol has been driven by the president's desire to avoid a painful moral reckoning on race. And he sheds light on identity issues within the black power structure, telling the fascinating story of how Obama has spurned traditional black power brokers, significantly reducing their leverage.
President Obama's own voice--from an Oval Office interview granted to Dyson for this book--along with those of Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, and Maxine Waters, among others, add unique depth to this profound tour of the nation's first black presidency.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 282-333) and index.
Michael Eric Dyson delivers a provocative exploration of the politics of race and the Obama presidency. Barack Obama's presidency unfolded against the national traumas of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, and Walter Scott. The nation's first African American president was careful to give few major race speeches, yet he faced criticism from all sides, including from African Americans. How has Obama's race affected his presidency and the nation's identity? Dyson explores whether Obama's use of his own biracialism as a symbol has been driven by the president's desire to avoid a painful moral reckoning on race. And he sheds light on identity issues within the black power structure, telling how Obama has spurned traditional black power brokers, significantly reducing their leverage. Perhaps most movingly, Dyson illuminates the transformative moments, especially in his second term, when Obama has publicly embraced his blackness and used it as a powerful lens onto America, black and white. President Obama's own voice--from an Oval Office interview granted to Dyson for the book--along with that of Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, and Andrew Young, among others, adds depth to this tour of the nation's first black presidency.--Adapted from book jacket.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Lauded public intellectual Dyson asks how race shapes the country's understanding of President Barack Obama's tenure. Obama was interviewed for the book. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
In insightful fashion, Dyson (Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster) looks at how President Obama has dealt with, in James Baldwin's phrase, "the burden of representation" as an African-American. He begins with the president's strained relationships with political elders such as Marcia Fudge, Emanuel Cleaver, and Maxine Waters. Dyson cites Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as inspirations for the president's "linguistic charisma" and podium skills, which reflect "the beauty and power of black rhetoric." However, Dyson roundly criticizes Obama's typically measured responses to the race-related controversies of his term, from professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s arrest in Massachusetts and the death of teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida to the riots in Ferguson, Mo., and the church murders in Charleston, S.C. At the same time, the author acknowledges that, as America's first black president, Obama faces unusually heightened expectations. He has been in a precarious position, one that Dyson examines diligently and passionately in this timely analysis. Agent: Tanya McKinnon, McKinnon McIntyre. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Prolific author and public intellectual Dyson refreshes our memories and contextualizes Barack Obama's tumultuous presidency to show how his political ascendancy has changed what it means to be black in America. He couldn't have chosen a better lens through which to view America's race relationships than Obama, whose biracial otherness continues to be problematic for both blacks and whites. Dyson parses defining moments, including the backstory of Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the president's former pastor, and First Lady Michelle Obama's Pride-gate statement, to demonstrate the tightrope act necessary for appealing to white voters while seeking to unify the black vote. Also highlighted are acts of overt racism and disrespect no other president has had to face. Dyson contends that during the last quarter of his presidency, Obama's public statements have moved closer to his privately held beliefs and that his voice ranks among other noted black orators. By focusing on social impacts rather than legislative successes and failures, Dyson places Obama's achievements and struggles within the continuum of systematic racial injustice. A perceptive, carefully sourced, and thought-provoking inquiry.--Kaplan, Dan Copyright 2016 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
An early assessment of America's first black presidency. In this rich and nuanced book, Dyson (Sociology/Georgetown Univ.; Can You Hear Me Now?: The Inspiration, Wisdom, and Insight of Michael Eric Dyson, 2009, etc.) writes with passion and understanding about Barack Obama's "sad and disappointing" performance regarding race and black concerns in his two terms in office. While race has defined his tenure, Obama has been "reluctant to take charge" and speak out candidly about the nation's racial woes, determined to remain "not a black leader but a leader who is black." Ironically, as the first black president, Obama was expected by many to offer racial insight to the country, but instead, constrained by a "toxic environment" (criticism by birthers, etc.), he has sought to "keep racial peace, often at the expense of black interests." Too often he "ignores race, denies white responsibility, or criticizes black culture." Dyson cogently examines Obama's speeches and statements on race, from his first presidential campaign through recent eventse.g., the Ferguson riots and the eulogy for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney in Charlestonnoting that the president is careful not to raise the ire of whites and often chastises blacks for their moral failings. At his best, he spoke with "special urgency for black Americans" during the Ferguson crisis and was "at his blackest," breaking free of constraints, in his "Amazing Grace" Charleston eulogy. Criticized in the past by the radical Cornel West for being an Obama cheerleader, Dyson writes here as a realistic, sometimes-angry supporter of the president. He notes that adoration of Obama has prevented many blacks from holding him accountable. His discussions of key issues and controversiesfrom Obama's biracial identity to his relationships with older civil rights leadersare insightful and absorbing. Dyson succeeds admirably in creating a base line for future interpretations of this historic presidency. His well-written book thoroughly illuminates the challenges facing a black man elected to govern a society that is far from post-racial. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.