Michael Eric Dyson explores the powerful, surprising way the politics of race have shaped former U.S. president Barack Obama’s identity and groundbreaking presidency.

How has Obama dealt publicly with race – as the national traumas of Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and Walter Scott played out during his tenure? What can we learn from Obama’s major race speeches about his approach to racial conflict and the Black criticism it provokes?

Dyson explores whether Obama’s use of his own biracialism as a radiant symbol was driven by the former president’s desire to avoid a painful moral reckoning on race. And he sheds light on identity issues within the Black power structure, telling the fascinating story of how Obama has spurned traditional Black power brokers, significantly reducing their leverage.

Obama’s own voice – from an Oval Office interview granted to Dyson for this book – along with those of Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, and Maxine Waters, among others, add unique depth to this profound tour of the nation’s first Black presidency.

About the Author

Michael Eric Dyson is a New York Times op-ed contributor, a Georgetown University professor, an MSNBC political analyst, and best-selling author of 17 books, including the American Book Award–winning Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster (2006).