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ERIC Number: EJ839455
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Feb-5
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1557-5411
EISSN: N/A
The Obama Era: A Post-Racial Society?
Lum, Lydia
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v25 n26 p14-16 Feb 2009
With Barack Obama ensconced as the nation's first Black president, plenty of voices in the national conversation are trumpeting America as a post-racial society--that race matters much less than it used to, that the boundaries of race have been overcome, that racism is no longer a big problem. In this article, longtime scholars whose life's work intertwines with race disagree, even while applauding Obama's presidency as a milestone. Race, they say, still matters. A lot. To these scholars, claims of post-racialism hold mirage rather than merit because far too many significant, statistical disparities remain between Whites and minorities in educational attainment, income and net worth, career advancement and health care outcomes. Post-racialism is a goal not yet reached. Therefore, casting aside the role race plays in these inequities as well as race-conscious remedies such as diversity programs, they warn, doesn't bode well for minorities still struggling. While the term "post-race" has emerged in national discourse within the past few years, many scholars say the same subtext already lived in catch phrases like "color blind" more than a decade ago. Post-racialism parallels the same ideas that gained traction alongside other historical markers such as the first Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday in 1986.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A