Quote:
Originally posted by Steeltrap
An Appeal Beyond Race
By SCOTT L. MALCOMSON
Published: August 1, 2004
Yet some political analysts have wondered whether white voters don't also find him attractive because, while he is black, he is not the direct product of generations of black life in America: he is not black in the usual way.
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I know I am a little late on this one but...
I agree with TonyB06 when he said "...but it appeared the author was, in a nuanced way, trying to scrub away, de-emphasize Obama's blackness, and to somehow offer this as at least a secondary reason for Obama's rise among white voters."
To me, the article subtly asserts that Blackness is related to upbringing and social class. It brought back memories of my childhood being told that I wasn't "really" black by White classmates (intended as a compliment) or somehow less authentically black by Black peers (intended as an insult) as a result of a middle class upbringing and the ability to articulate in standard English. I guess to me it is one thing to say he stands in opposition to the false stereotypes of Black Americans that have become old hat these days and another to say he is Black in some sort of way that is different from the rest. A more model minority, if you will, than the rest of the ragamuffins.
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