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Yes We Can?

White Racial Framing and the 2008 Presidential Campaign

By Adia Harvey-Wingfield, Joe Feagin

Published August 18th 2009 by Routledge – 284 pages

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Description

This book offers one of the first sociological analyses of Barack Obama’s historic 2008 campaign for the presidency of the United States. Elaborating on the concept of the white racial frame, Harvey Wingfield and Feagin assess the ways racial framing was deployed by principal characters in the 2008 election. This book counters many commonsense assumptions about race, politics, and society, particularly the idea that Obama’s election ushered in a post-racial era. Readers will find this book uniquely valuable because it relies on sound sociological analysis to assess numerous events and aspects of this historic campaign.

Reviews

"Sociologists Wingfield (Georgia State) and Feagin (Texas A&M) analyze the 2008 presidential campaign through the theoretical framework of "systemic racism"…the authors provide an interesting, lucid sociological analysis of this historic campaign. Summing Up: Recommended." -- Choice, July 2010

"Debunking the white-washed illusion that we are living in a "post-racial" America, the authors convincingly demonstrate that race continues to play a fundamental role shaping U.S. politics by placing the Obama Presidential campaign at the center of analysis. An excellent overview of how race and racism play out in contemporary U.S. society "—Jake Alimahomed-Wilson, Sociology, California State University, Long Beach

Contents

Table of Contents

Preface 3

Acknowledgments 7

Chapter 1

White Racial Framing and Barack Obama’s Campaign 9

Chapter 2

"Too Black?" Or "Not Black Enough?" 42

Chapter 3

From Susan B. Anthony to Hillary Clinton 63

Chapter 4

The Cool Black Man vs. The Fist-Bumping Socialist 96

Chapter 5

The Dr. Jeremiah Wright Controversy 145

Chapter 6

Primaries and Voters of Color 188

Chapter 7

November 4, 2008 207

Chapter 8

"Post-Racial" America? 238

References 286

Author Bio

Adia Harvey Wingfield is an assistant professor of sociology at Georgia State University. Her research focuses on the ways intersections of race and gender shape various groups' experiences in different occupations. Her recent work addresses the experiences of black male nurses, minority faculty at independent schools, and black female entrepreneurs

Joe R. Feagin is Ella C. McFadden Professor at Texas A & M University. Feagin has done research on racism and sexism issues for forty-five years and has served as the Scholar-in-Residence at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He has written 54 scholarly books and nearly 200 scholarly articles in his research areas, and one of his books (Ghetto Revolts) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.