How the Obama Presidency Changed the Political Landscape

Covering key issues ranging from education to political mobilization to racial stratification, this book provides a comprehensive examination of the Obama Presidency.
President Barack Obama's election and subsequent reelection represent a critical paradigm shift in American political history. But are there lasting effects of the election of an African American to the highest office in the land in terms of the United States' economic, educational, political and social realities? A valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, state and federal policymakers, and general readers, this book poses critical questions and offers insightful answers from expert contributors, provides a balanced critique of President Obama's accomplishments and challenges, and considers the national and international impact President Obama's tenure had on politics.
The numerous contributors to this book provide a range of perspectives on President Obama's presidency that question conventional thinking, covering key issues that include health care, education, political mobilization, gender, racial stratification, voting patterns, and criminal justice. Readers will come away with a heightened comprehension of the complex relationships between political structures, economic policies, and minority interests; how Congress, traditional and contemporary activists, and domestic and international issues all shaped the Obama Presidency; and how micro and macro issues such as voting rights, voting patterns, and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) initiatives are connected.

Larry J. Walker is a researcher and political strategist. He is a former Congressional Fellow with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and served as Legislative Director for Congressman Major R. Owens.
F. Erik Brooks is professor and chair of the African American Studies Department at Western Illinois University, USA.
Ramon B. Goings is assistant professor of educational leadership at Loyola University of Maryland-Baltimore, USA.

Preface Part One Race, Party Affiliation, and the New Majority Chapter 1 The Body Politic: How Underrepresented Groups Can Gain Political Power Christopher M. Whitt Chapter 2 The Right to Vote, 50 Years Later: Do We Still Need the 1965 VRA? Blanche M. Radford-Curry Chapter 3 The Latino Vote: Growth, Influence, and How Obama Changed the Game Andrew Martinez and Paola Esmieu Chapter 4 African Americans, Voting, and the Republican Party Donna L. Taylor Chapter 5 Barack Obama and the Youth Vote Glenn L. Starks Chapter 6 New Definitions of Progressivism in the Age of Obama Linda D. Tomlinson Chapter 7 You Can't Call That Mentoring: The Fallacy of Mentoring in Obama's My Brother's Keeper Torie Weiston-Serdan and Arash Daneshzadeh Chapter 8 The Great Divider: Obama's Influence on Trust in Government and Racial Attitudes Clarissa Peterson and Emmitt Y. Riley III Part Two Coalition Building, Social Media, and Political Messaging Chapter 9 Body Cameras and Policing: From Ferguson to Baltimore MaCherie M. Placide Chapter 10 President Obama: Code-Meshing and the Power of Speech in Racial Politics Cassandra Chaney and Kyomi Gregory Chapter 11 The Duplicitous Commodification of the Obama Presidency: Interrogating Barack Obama's Sociopolitical Assent and Relevance through a Conscious Hip-Hop Pedagogy Ahmad R. Washington, Belema Idoniboye, and Marta N. Mack-Washington Chapter 12 Black Women as Agents of Social Change during the Obama Presidency Melissa Brown Chapter 13 The Black President and the Black Body: The Intersection of Race, Class, Gender, and Violence in America David O. Fakunle, Calvin J. Smiley, and Marisela B. Gomez Chapter 14 HBCUs and Activism in the Post-Obama Era Felecia Commodore and Robert T. Palmer Chapter 15 Standardized Testing, Teacher Accountability, and the School Choice Debate Nicole McZeal-Walters Chapter 16 Use of Deadly Force: Policing and Accountability during the Obama Administration Kimberly J. Rice, Keith Boeckelman, and Casey LaFrance Index About the Editors and Contributors