Abstract
This paper introduces the concept of the “racial dialectic” to describe the ways racial dialogues and policies have transformed in the wake of Barack Obama’s historic election to the presidency of the United States of America. Using public statements and behaviors from elected officials, pundits, and Obama himself as case study data, we examine the tension between what we term the hard racial frame, the soft racial frame, and the racial counterframe in the public discourses. We conclude that these competing frames produce a dialectic that has transformed the way racial issues are discussed and interpreted in the wake of Obama’s election.
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POTUS is an acronym for President of the United States.
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Ibid
Condon, Stephanie. “GOP Pushback Continues, with Limbaugh Calling Sotomayor a ‘Reverse Racist,’” CBS News, May 5, 2009, http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/05/27/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5043597.shtml (accessed May 27, 2009); Froomkin, Dan. “Obama’s Real Life Justice,” Washington Post.com, May 26, 2009 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/2009/05/obamas_real-life_justice/pf.html (accessed October 20, 2009)
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Condon, Stephanie. “GOP Pushback Continues, with Limbaugh Calling Sotomayor a ‘Reverse Racist,’” CBS News, May 5, 2009, http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/05/27/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5043597.shtml (accessed May 27, 2009). Limbaugh is not the only public figure to follow this line of argument. Sean Hannity also contended that Obama’s “radical associations” with Reverend Jeremiah Wright minimzed Obama’s qualifications for the presidency. Similarly, Glenn Beck cited Van Jones as an example of one of Obama’s “radical appointments.” As with Justice Sotomayor, these arguments use these figures as a way of maligning President Obama.
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Democrats Ramshield. “CNN's Rick Sanchez in a startling video reports threats against President Obama are up 400%.” Cnn.com, September 12, 2009, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/12/780953/-CNNs-Rick-Sanchez-in-a-startling-video-reports-threats-against-President-Obama-are-up-400-percent (accessed on September 21, 2009).
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Wingfield, A.H., Feagin, J. The Racial Dialectic: President Barack Obama and the White Racial Frame. Qual Sociol 35, 143–162 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-012-9223-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-012-9223-7