Barack Obama On Civil Rights

Highly acclaimed dissection of the “new racism,” from one of the greatest radical black intellectuals of our time Many in the United States, including Barack Obama, have called for a “post-racial” politics; yet race still divides the country politically, economically, and socially. In this highly acclaimed work, Manning Marable rejects both liberal inclusionist strategies and the separatist politics of the likes of Louis Farrakhan. Looking back at African-American politics and the fight against racism of the recent past, he argues powerfully for a “transformationist” strategy that retains a distinctive black cultural identity but draws together all the poor and exploited in a united struggle against oppression.

This book contains fourteen of the most important set of speeches from President Barack Obama on the topic of Civil Rights. Chapters include President's reflections on Martin Luther King, Jr, the thoughts he shared during the funeral for Dr. Dorothy Height, as well as the comments he made at the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. This rare collection offers powerful insight into the man and character of President Obama.

AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE AGE OF OBAMA: A HISTORY AND A HANDBOOK, by Prof. Harold McDougall of the Howard University School of Law is a look at some of the remaining trouble spots in black-white relations in the United States today, with the benefit of the Obama Administration's first year in office as a backdrop. The book begins with racial profiling, a topic particularly charged as a consequence of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates' arrest in his own home, for disorderly conduct, by Cambridge, Massachusetts police. Other trouble spots include hate crimes, discrimination against consumers, employment discrimination, voting rights, housing discrimination and discrimination in public education.

Highly acclaimed dissection of the “new racism,” from one of the greatest radical black intellectuals of our time Many in the United States, including Barack Obama, have called for a “post-racial” politics; yet race still divides the country politically, economically, and socially. In this highly acclaimed work, Manning Marable rejects both liberal inclusionist strategies and the separatist politics of the likes of Louis Farrakhan. Looking back at African-American politics and the fight against racism of the recent past, he argues powerfully for a “transformationist” strategy that retains a distinctive black cultural identity but draws together all the poor and exploited in a united struggle against oppression.

How America can achieve greater racial equality in the post–civil rights era With the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States, the issue of racial justice in America occupies center stage. Have black Americans finally achieved racial justice? Is government intervention no longer required? Racial Justice in the Age of Obama considers contemporary civil rights questions and theories, and offers fresh insights and effective remedies for race issues in America today. While there are now unprecedented opportunities for talented African Americans, Roy Brooks shows that lingering deficiencies remain within the black community. Exploring solutions to these social ills, Brooks identifies competing civil rights theories and perspectives, organizing them into four distinct categories—traditionalism, reformism, limited separation, and critical race theory. After examining each approach, Brooks constructs the best civil rights theory for the Obama phase of the post–civil rights era. Brooks supports his theoretical model with strong statistics that break down the major racial groups along such demographics as income and education. He factors in the cultural and structural explanations for the nation's racial divisions, and he addresses affirmative action, the failures of integration, the negative aspects of black urban culture, and the black community's limited access to resources. The book focuses on African Americans, but its lessons are relevant for other groups, including Latinos, Asians, women, and gays and lesbians. Racial Justice in the Age of Obama maps out today's civil rights questions so that all groups can achieve equality at a time of unprecedented historical change.

The civil rights movement was one of the most important social justice movements in American history, and readers are sure to be captivated by this in-depth look at the leaders and moments that defined this period. Enlightening main text and detailed sidebars feature quotes from the men and women who lived through this time of trial and triumph, and the facts readers discover on each page complement current social studies curriculum topics. Additional insight is provided through primary sources, a comprehensive timeline, and historical and contemporary images.

"Explor[es] the paradoxical nature of racial politics in the post–civil rights period. . . . Does us the service of detailing how different presidential administrations handled civil rights, complicating our understanding of the major themes that defined the era."--American Historical Review "Adds depth to our historical understanding of how various presidents and their administrations approached issues pertaining to the equal rights of black (and to a lesser extent, Hispanic) Americans in a number of institutional and legislative arenas."--Journal of American History "Expertly link[s] executive decision-making and electoral strategizing with the politics of civil rights."--Journal of American Studies "Examines the forward and backward movement of civil rights since the resurgence of conservative politics in 1968. . . . Welcome and helpful."--Journal of Southern History "An invaluable addition to the rapidly developing historiography of neoconservativism, particularly the ideology’s relationship with African Americans."--Louisiana History "A striking example of a successful meshing of historical and political science methodologies and scholarship."--North Carolina Historical Review "This remarkable study offers breakthrough findings and insights about the state of civil rights policies in the post-civil rights era."--Hanes Walton Jr., coauthor of American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom "Eschewing easy absolutes, Winning While Losing presents a carefully nuanced interpretation of the subtle gains and losses experienced by liberals and conservatives, by Democrats and Republicans, and by proponents of racial justice and their opponents."--Harvard Sitkoff, author of Toward Freedom Land "Insightful and fascinating. Sets an agenda for further scholarly debate about the puzzle of 'winning while losing' that defines the fortunes of civil rights and the stratagems of politicians over the past generation."--Robert Mason, author of Richard Nixon and the Quest for a New Majority "A comprehensive account of the links between racism, conservatism, and presidential politics in the post-civil rights era."--Greta de Jong, author of Invisible Enemy: The African American Freedom Struggle after 1965 During the four decades separating the death of Martin Luther King and the election of Barack Obama, the meaning of civil rights became increasingly complex. Civil rights leaders made great strides in breaking down once-impermeable racial barriers, but they also suffered many political setbacks in their attempts to remedy centuries of discrimination. Complicating matters, the conservative turn in American political life transformed the national conversation about race and civil rights in surprising ways. This pioneering collection of essays explores the paradoxical nature of civil rights politics in the years following the 1960s civil rights movement by chronicling the ways in which presidential politics both advanced and constrained the quest for racial equality in the United States.

The paradox of racial inequality in Barack Obama's America Barack Obama, in his acclaimed campaign speech discussing the troubling complexities of race in America today, quoted William Faulkner's famous remark "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." In Not Even Past, award-winning historian Thomas Sugrue examines the paradox of race in Obama's America and how President Obama intends to deal with it. Obama's journey to the White House undoubtedly marks a watershed in the history of race in America. Yet even in what is being hailed as the post-civil rights era, racial divisions—particularly between blacks and whites—remain deeply entrenched in American life. Sugrue traces Obama's evolving understanding of race and racial inequality throughout his career, from his early days as a community organizer in Chicago, to his time as an attorney and scholar, to his spectacular rise to power as a charismatic and savvy politician, to his dramatic presidential campaign. Sugrue looks at Obama's place in the contested history of the civil rights struggle; his views about the root causes of black poverty in America; and the incredible challenges confronting his historic presidency. Does Obama's presidency signal the end of race in American life? In Not Even Past, a leading historian of civil rights, race, and urban America offers a revealing and unflinchingly honest assessment of the culture and politics of race in the age of Obama, and of our prospects for a postracial America.