Black Awakening in Obama's America: The End of an Illusion

Tatjana Vukelić
University of Rijeka, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Abstract

Black Awakening in Obama’s America: The End of an Illusion Tatjana Vukelić, Ph.D. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Rijeka Sveučilišna avenia 4 Croatia Email: [email protected] Abstract: In America, African Americans were, and are, locked in a racial prison. As Blacks, their identities were defined in opposition to whites and whitness. Of course, Blacks could free themselves by changing their names, reframing their identities, and discharging their culture and heritage. To do so, as Malcolm X pointed out, required some kind of radical action, a kind of suspension of judgement that would permit Blacks to see themselves in tension with the normative white gaze. As long as African Americans place their faith in political rightness and correctness of American democracy, they would never know what it feels like to be equal. The hope and optimism that coursed through Black America in anticipation of Obama’s victory as the first Black president in 2008 seemed a million miles away. It seems like slavery was never abolished, it was only redesigned. Keywords: racial politics, Barack Obama, police brutality, #BlackLivesMatter, transition.

Presentation