For many blacks, Obama’s reelection cements his legacy |
For many blacks, Obama’s reelection cements his legacy
The Washington Post
2012-11-07
Wil Haygood and DeNeen Brown
President Obama’s reelection — in a ferocious campaign dotted by charges of racial anger and minority-voter suppression — has provided what many blacks say will surely deepen his legacy: irrefutable evidence that his presidency is hardly a historical fluke as he has now won two national campaigns with overwhelming white support.
Obama, the nation’s first black president, was already soaked in history, a figure seen in the aftermath of his 2008 victory as the culmination of a decades-long civil rights crusade that suffered the assassination of beloved figures who fought and marched for the right to vote and freely pursue the American dream.
But Obama’s first term as president also saw him pelted with racially charged denunciations — some from politicians — that reopened festering wounds and even fears in the African American community for his safety. At times it felt as if the W.E.B. Du Bois prophecy — the problem of the 20th century would be the color line, he famously opined — had leapt right into the 21st century…
Read the entire article here.
Tags: DeNeen Brown, The Washington Post, Washington Post, Wil Haygood