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“We Ain’t Ready to See a Black President”: Barack Obama and Post-Racialism in American Society

Jones, Kamara Rochelle
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1268172269

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, African-American and African Studies.
“‘We Ain’t Ready to See a Black President’: Barack Obama and Post-Racialism in American Society” is about the news media-circulated post-racial narrative. The post-racial narrative, an extension of post-Civil Rights Era color-blind ideology, argues that the success of President Barack Obama, the United States’ first African-American president, is evidence of a society in which racism, although previously present, is no longer a stifling barrier for Blacks. A tempered version of the post-racial narrative also exists. That version argues that the success of Obama is evidence of post-racial politics, a political climate in which racism, although previously present, is no longer a stifling barrier for Black political candidates seeking high-level political offices. I will argue that both versions of the American post-racial narrative do not reflect the material reality of African Americans and are politically disadvantageous for the stigmatized group. I will also argue that the post-racial narrative was resisted by lay African Americans in a virtual African-American counterpublic space I call the digital African-American underground. And finally, I will argue that the identity politics that were operating among African Americans and Ghanaians in relation to Obama further contradict the post-racial narrative. To construct my arguments, I will use content analysis, theory, and quantitative data.
Kwaku Korang (Committee Chair)
Rebecca Wanzo (Committee Member)
Wendy Smooth (Committee Member)
Judson L. Jeffries (Committee Member)
186 p.
African Americans
Barack Obama; post-racial; post-racialism; postracial; media; politics; race; counterpublic; intra-racial conflict; subtyping; interest convergence theory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Jones, K. R. (2010). “We Ain’t Ready to See a Black President”: Barack Obama and Post-Racialism in American Society [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1268172269

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Jones, Kamara. “We Ain’t Ready to See a Black President”: Barack Obama and Post-Racialism in American Society. 2010. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1268172269.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Jones, Kamara. "“We Ain’t Ready to See a Black President”: Barack Obama and Post-Racialism in American Society." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1268172269

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1268172269
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© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.