The Case of the Missing Post-Racial Election

Abstract

In 2004 Sen. Barack Obama captured the nation’s attention. He called for an end to the politics of racial division: “There’s not a Black America and White America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.” As Election Day nears and political differences are magnified, it is important to remind Americans, Democrat and Republican, of those unifying sentiments.

Soon Americans will determine who will serve as the next president. In the last election, a majority voted for Obama, making him the first minority Commander in Chief. Obama’s historic victory caused many to wonder if America had entered a post-racial period where color would be irrelevant. Recent events suggest that America remains far from that imagined utopia.

Keywords: Barack Obama, elections, race relations, U.S. history, Jim Crow, politics, stereotyping

JEL Classification: J71, J79, K19, K39, K49