Did the reconstructed period help Obama and his Presidency
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Abstract
The project is based on the comparison between the popularity and policies of Obama and previous leadership. Obama is the first black president, therefore no past leadership had power and authority that Obama acquired. Hence, the comparison has been made on the basis of their image in front of people and strategies he used to maintain political status and for representing his community. This topic is significant to study because it will be helpful to understand the sudden change in American society. In other words, America is facing the problem of racism and discrimination on the basis of race and color. In this condition, how Obama successfully acquired the power as a large number of white population voted for him which was the remarkable thing in the history of America. For the purpose, different credible sources were examined to understand the different aspects of politics that Obama and past leadership had used and the way they were different in implementation.
Various articles highlighted the political strategies during the Obama campaign including his speeches, massages, and the main goal for the future. In addition, his policies after coming in the power like healthcare program are used to compare him with previous black leaders. The result indicates that past black leadership during and after the civil rights movement was kind of extremist and more concerned for the rights of the black. They demanded social changes from white dominant society and blamed them for inequality in the country. Unlike past leadership, Obama used moderate speeches which not only focused the concern of black community but also highlighted the issue that was related to white people and for the nation as a whole like healthcare issue and educational issue. This strategy made him more popular than the previous black leaders and Obama successfully gained the popularity from both the white community and in his native community. Besides, he used the civil rights movement not to highlight the past memories rather he used it only as a power card without playing with the sentiments of people. His policies were remarkable which helped the nation to grow rather than benefitting one community or particular status in the country.
Annotated Bibliography
McIlwain, Charlton D. Perceptions of Leadership and the Challenge of Obamas Blackness. Journal of Black Studies 38, no. 1 (September 2007) 6474.
In this article, Charlton discussed the perception of the leadership that the American has made. Especially for the black people, those were able to acquire a small position in Senate with so many difficulties. Obamas blackness becomes the challenge for his presidency. The analysis was made on the basis of the first three months of the candidacy of Obama. Authors have evaluated the perception of leadership in Obamas presidency and during the 1988 campaign. The campaign of Obama was compared with the 1988 campaign of Jesse Jackson. The close reading of the 1988 campaign and reports over the Obama campaign shows that during 1988 there was a direct relationship between the demonstrations of leadership qualities and race. In the past, race identity was strong over the qualities of leadership while in the case of Obama political experience was more concerned. Race identity was also the factor but it was not much stronger as in 1988. Obama was considered as less experienced as he was compared with George W. Bush who had great experience in politics. Obamas strategy was dependent on America as a whole he did not consider his race for voters while in past race identity was used to get more voters. Therefore, Obama successfully got popularity where candidates primarily considered candidates on the basis of leadership rather than race.
Branch, Lessie. Reexamining the Obama Effect How Barack Obamas Rhetoric Spread Optimistic Colorblindness in an Age of Inequality, n.d., 14.
In this article, the effects of the Obama presidency are examined. The author claims that from decades there is a constant difference between the progresses of black and white. The author compared the condition during 1972 when African American Robert H. Wood was one of the mayors of America with the state of affairs during the governance of Obama. Evidence shows that during 1972 unemployment rate in black was double than white people. In 2011, the national crisis occurred as the employment of white reached eight percent while black was even above eight percent. The author focused on the speeches of Obama and past black leaders. In past leaders like Pierre Caliste Landry in 1868, W. B. Scott in 1869, Edward Ned Sherman in 1878, focused on the black people. They blamed white for the problem and crisis faced by black. In contrast, Obama did not blame white he blamed black for their socioeconomic situations. He targeted not only black people but also white women. He asked white women to fight with the current situation. This difference between the appearance and perspective of Obama than that of the old black leader helped black people to act as a colorblind for attitudes towards race. It was the positive initiative by Obama which helped society to raise equity by preventing racism and focusing on collective issues.
Brown, Anna, and Atske, Sara. Blacks Have Made Gains in U.S. Political Leadership, but Gaps Remain. Pew Research Center (blog). Accessed April 4, 2019.
In this article, authors claimed that with time blacks have made their space in different fields including politics but gaps remain. Authors explained the progress in black leadership within fifty years. Data reveals that during 1965 governance, there was not a single black senate member. There were only 6 house representative. As compared to 1965, the political situation has been changed and the number of black people has increased in the Senate. In current governance, fifty-two blacks are the members of the house of representative. Three black people got elected for Senate while there is no black governor. Authors represented the house member data from 1965 to 2019 with the help of graph. Data reveals that after the governance of Bill Clintons first term, Obama term 2 has the highest black member in the cabinet. It indicates the popularity of Obama during his campaigning and his strategies made it possible to reduce the gap between black and white in politics. However, in the past, most of the leaders failed to achieve this popularity and importance from the public especially from the white. Obama has acquired a large number of white voters and he played an important role to enhance the equality between different races.
Yadon, Nicole, and Spencer Piston. Examining Whites Anti-Black Attitudes after Obamas Presidency. Politics, Groups, and Identities, March 5, 2018, 121.
This article, authors examined the attitude of white people regarding anti-black attitudes after the presidency of Obama. The author discussed that during the era of civil wars and after, the white politicians used equality card for power. The nation was told to be based on equality and equal opportunities for both black and white people. In reality, black got fewer opportunities, even in the field of politics. Evidence shows that prejudice effects on the opinion of white were less before than the Obamas presidency. Obama has established different policies and reforms including economic stimulus and healthcare programs. Finding also indicated that Obama avoids race-targeted policies. Previous black leadership was more concerned for the black and shared their opinion openly. On the other hand, Obama did not show one-sided opinion and developed the policies without any racial discrimination. The attitude of Obama and previous leadership brought surprising results where racial attitudes became stronger in Obamas governance than before. The main reason behind the fact was the popularity and efficient policies of Obama. He successfully delivered his services which increased the sense of insecurity in white leadership. However, the first black presidency enhances the overall tolerance in white for black people.
Hill, Theon E. Sanitizing the Struggle Barack Obama, Selma, and Civil Rights Memory. Communication Quarterly 65, no. 3 (May 27, 2017) 35476.
In this article, the authors explained the struggle by discussing Obama, Selma, and civil rights memory that Obama had used in his speeches. The author argued that although Obama has used civil rights memory in his speech, the selection of words show that he used it in a manner that can benefit his political position. Unlike leadership during civil rights movement and after the movement who used to blame whites for their racism and inequality that black had faced, Obama did not recall these points which according to the author weakened the political agency of black. The speech and massage of Obama were crucial to understanding the present discourse. He used Selma and Joshua generation to appeal to the citizen of America to choose a president who happened to be black. If we compare the speech of Obama with previous black leaders before and after being elected, past leaders had openly blamed white people for the poor situation of black people. They presented their policy and goals directly for the black community where they appealed white for the justice for the minorities. On the other hand, Obama did not use this policy he rather blamed white for past and focused on the future policies to bring social changes. The strategy made him more popular and helped his governance to work for equality.
End Notes
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL uncited,omitted,custom CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Branch, Lessie. Reexamining the Obama Effect How Barack Obamas Rhetoric Spread Optimistic Colorblindness in an Age of Inequality, n.d., 14.
Hill, Theon E. Sanitizing the Struggle Barack Obama, Selma, and Civil Rights Memory. Communication Quarterly 65, no. 3 (May 27, 2017) 35476. https//doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2016.1275728.
McIlwain, Charlton D. Perceptions of Leadership and the Challenge of Obamas Blackness. Journal of Black Studies 38, no. 1 (September 2007) 6474. https//doi.org/10.1177/0021934707304959.
NW, 1615 L. St, Suite 800Washington, and DC 20036USA202-419-4300 Main202-857-8562 Fax202-419-4372 Media Inquiries. Blacks Have Made Gains in U.S. Political Leadership, but Gaps Remain. Pew Research Center (blog). Accessed April 4, 2019. https//www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/18/blacks-have-made-gains-in-u-s-political-leadership-but-gaps-remain/.
Yadon, Nicole, and Spencer Piston. Examining Whites Anti-Black Attitudes after Obamas Presidency. Politics, Groups, and Identities, March 5, 2018, 121. https//doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2018.1438953.
McIlwain, Charlton D. Perceptions of Leadership and the Challenge of Obamas Blackness. Journal of Black Studies 38, no. 1 (September 2007) 6474.
Branch, Lessie. Reexamining the Obama Effect How Barack Obamas Rhetoric Spread Optimistic Colorblindness in an Age of Inequality, n.d., 14.
Brown, Anna and Atske, Sara. Blacks Have Made Gains in U.S. Political Leadership, but Gaps Remain. Pew Research Center (blog). Accessed April 4, 2019.
Yadon, Nicole, and Spencer Piston. Examining Whites Anti-Black Attitudes after Obamas Presidency. Politics, Groups, and Identities, March 5, 2018, 121.
Hill, Theon E. Sanitizing the Struggle Barack Obama, Selma, and Civil Rights Memory. Communication Quarterly 65, no. 3 (May 27, 2017) 35476.
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