Race and the Obama Administration : Substance, symbols and hope / / Andra Gillespie

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910973869203321
• Autore: Gillespie Andra
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Manchester : , : Manchester University Press, , [2019]; ©2019
• ISBN: 9781526105035; 1526105039; 9781526155177; 1526155176
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (xiii, 237 pages) : illustrations
• Disciplina: 973.932
• Soggetti: Relations interethniques - États-Unis - 21e siecle; Noirs américains - Conditions economiques - 21e siecle; Noirs américains - Conditions sociales - 21e siecle; Politique et gouvernement - États-Unis - 2009-2017
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliogr. p. 208-230. Index.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (pages 208-230) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Front matter -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: My president was black So what? -- The triple bind -- How he did: The racial successes, failures, and impact of the Obama presidency -- Was Obama a paddling duck?: Seven vignettes of substantive politics in the Obama Administration -- The right person saying the right thing: Descriptive representation and rhetoric in the Obama Administration -- The political power of symbolic representation: Artistic performances and commencement speeches from... -- The substance of hope: Public opinion and black attitudes toward the Obama presidency -- Conclusion: Was it worth it? -- Epilogue: Considering the Obama legacy in the age of Trump -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index.
• Sommario/riassunto: "The election of Barack Obama marked a critical point in American political and social history. Did the historic election of a black president actually change the status of blacks in the United States? Did these changes (or lack thereof) inform blacks' perceptions of the President? ; This book explores these questions by comparing Obama's promotion of substantive and symbolic initiatives for blacks to efforts by the two previous presidential administrations. By employing a comparative analysis, the reader can judge whether Obama did more or less to promote black interests than his predecessors. Taking a more empirical approach to judging Barack Obama, this book hopes to contribute to current debates about the significance of the first African American presidency. It takes care to make distinctions between Obama's substantive and symbolic accomplishments and to explore the significance of both" (ed.).