Mar 11 2016
I Heart Obama – a Complex Look at the Black Community’s Relationship with the President – Part 2
GUEST: Erin Aubry Kaplan, long-time Los Angeles based journalist, former staff writer for the LA Weekly and op-ed writer for the LA Times. Her earlier books include ‘Black Talk, Blue Thoughts’, and ‘Walking the Color Line’. Her new book is entitled ‘I [Heart] Obama’.
As President Obama’s 8th year in office unfolds, his tenure is being examined from all sides. Setting aside for a moment, the fact that he is the nation’s first black president, Obama has essentially governed from the middle, and in doing so has disappointed progressives. He has been Republican-like on deportations while offering some concessionary immigration programs. He has paid lip service to mass incarceration and gun violence but done little else. He has proven hawkish on the Afghanistan and Libya wars and pushed hard to continue drone strikes. But he’s backed off from entering Syria and rebuilt ties with Iran and Cuba. He has championed fracking while cracking down on coal. So, his record is mixed.
His political achievements or failures aside, we cannot ignore the fact that he is the nation’s first black president. Conservatives and white supremacists see that first and foremost. And, for African Americans in particular, this is a central fact – one that has defined the community’s relationship to Obama.
Book Signing Events for ‘I [Heart] Obama’:
– March 21, Book Soup, 7 pm – 8818 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
One Response to “I Heart Obama – a Complex Look at the Black Community’s Relationship with the President – Part 2”
I don’t care what the pundits say or how blacks complain about what he hasn’t done. He is the POTUS and that means president of the United States that includes all people. He was partial to non, and that’s how it should have been. I’m am pleased with how he has served this country. He got us out of a hell hole which could have been a Depressoin and ignorant people do not appreciate all he’s done in spite of the GOP blocking him at every turn.