Nation of Cowards: Black Activism in Barack Obama's Post-Racial America

English

Series: Blacks in the Diaspora Ser.

ISBN: 0253007011

EAN: 9780253007018

Category: Political Science / American Government / General/Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations/

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Release Date: 09/04/2012

Synopsis:

In a speech from which Nation of Cowards derives its title, Attorney General Eric Holder argued forcefully that Americans today need to talk more-not less-about racism. This appeal for candid talk about race exposes the paradox of Barack Obama's historic rise to the US presidency and the ever-increasing social and economic instability of African American communities. David H. Ikard and Martell Lee Teasley maintain that such a conversation can take place only with passionate and organized pressure from black Americans, and that neither Obama nor any political figure is likely to be in the forefront of addressing issues of racial inequality and injustice. The authors caution blacks not to slip into an accommodating and self-defeating "post-racial" political posture, settling for the symbolic capital of a black president instead of demanding structural change. They urge the black community to challenge the social terms on which it copes with oppression, including acts of self-imposed victimization.

Nation of Cowards: Black Activism in Barack Obama's Post-Racial America

Illustrated: No

Format: eBook - PDF

Pages: 176