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More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:What Obama Means: For Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Futureby Jabari Asim
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:"This is our moment. This is our time," Barack Obama declared in his victory speech on November 4, 2008. Such a moment is an opportunity to explore who we are, where we've been, and what the emergence of a leader like Obama can tell us about our culture, our politics, and our future. In What Obama Means, Jabari Asim, author of the acclaimed The N Word, provides the context needed to understand what the Obama presidency means to Americans of all backgrounds. Asim moves easily from the contemporary to the historical, showing how performers and athletes, such as Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan, laid the groundwork for Obama as much as did leaders such as Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. DuBois, and Martin Luther King Jr. He examines the impact of Sidney Poitier (whose Guess Who's Coming to Dinner could have been the story of the president's parents) and how the actor's navigation of Hollywood was a forerunner for Obama's own path in wooing America's white voters. Asim places Obama within the history of the black rhetorical tradition, alongside such figures as James Baldwin, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Barbara Jordan. He also describes how the "Obama phenomenon" grew from the ground up, focusing on the people who caught on even before their leaders did. He demonstrates how Obama turned the old civil-rights model of African American leadership on its head, and shows that Obama's election is evidence of the progress that has been made in healing wounds and broadening America's concept of leadership and inspiration. Review:"In this exultation of everything Obama, author and magazine editor Asim (The N Word) takes a more historical approach to the 43rd President than his title would suggest, focusing more on pop-culture and political forebears than the consequences of Obama's election and presidency. Asim notes the influence of Michael Jackson and Prince, Duke Ellington and Dizzie Gillespie, Jay-Z and Usher, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, Jesse Jackson and Colin Powell-among many others-taking in the sweep of African-American empowerment and its drastic effects for Americans of every race. Asim deftly handles the intricacies of Black oratory, like Barbara Jordan's 1976 Democratic national convention keynote speech outlining the legacy of language, and responsibility, that Obama inherits (especially regarding MLK and the context of religion). Though Asim's goal-tying Obama to the proper 'tradition of African American eloquence '-is, in many chapters, left undeveloped, this is a smart, easily-accessed history of African Americans in the public eye, suitable more for pop-culture enthusiasts than serious students of history or sociology." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Book News Annotation:In this book, Asim considers what the Obama presidency means for
American culture. He discusses how leaders like Frederick Douglass,
W.E.B. DuBois, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and individuals in the US
government laid the foundation for Obama's success, how black
performers and athletes such as Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan
helped pave the way, and how Sidney Poitier and other actors made an
impact. He then describes how the Obama campaign grew from the ground
up, and the promise his presidency holds. There is no index or
bibliography. Asim is the author of The N Word, and editor in chief
of The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP.
Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Synopsis:A timely and sharp analysis about what the Obama phenomenon means for the future of American politics and society, by the celebrated "Washington Post" columnist. About the AuthorJabari Asim is the author of the acclaimed The N Word. He is editor in chief of The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP, and is a former editor at and frequent contributor to the Washington Post. His writing has appeared on Salon.com and in Essence, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. With his wife and five children, he divides his time between Maryland and Illinois. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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