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Fear Of A Black President Rhetorical Analysis

Decent Essays

In “Fear of a Black President,”Ta-Nehisi Coatescritiques the “false promise and double standard of integration” that he has noticed as a direct result of Obama’s presidency. He considers Obama’s position as the first black president of the US to be ironic becauseObama is best described as a “conservative revolutionary.” However, in “My President Was Black,” Coates opinion on Obama’s presidency is nearly polar opposite to his opinion in “Fear of a Black President.”When Obama was first elected, there was a sense of happiness and pride in having a black president. Black Americans saw Obama as a light to political change, and social progress. However, according to Ta-Nehisi Coates, Obama’s presidency was not that “light” that Americans sought from …show more content…

When he would publically speak on the topic of race, it was often watered down, and he tended to avoid getting to the meat of the issue. Despite Obama’s cool, if not lukewarm, approach to discussing race, some of his political colleagues were not shy aboutit. It wasn’t until the death of Trayvon Martin that Obama spoke more about race. During his speech, Obama said: “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” The backlash towards Obama’s speech on Trayvon Martin’s death was immediate and malicious. At this point, Ta-Nehisi Coates seems to somehow blame president Obama for the increase of support for George Zimmerman. I personally disagree with that view point. I believe that Zimmerman was already receiving a lot of support beforehand, and the support only increased due to the media’s constant vilification of black victims of police brutality. Obama’s speech wasn’t the catalyst to Trayvon Martin’s death being used as internet fodder, it was already happening and was slowly becoming more apparent. His death wasbeing mocked, and Zimmerman’s actions were being praised long before Obama spoke on the issue. For Obama, it’s a “damned if you don’t, damned if you do” paradox. If he didn’t speak on the issue of Trayvon Martin’s death, the same results would’ve occurred. He would face immediate backlash and get critiqued for playing a part in Trayvon’s vilification. “Fear of a Black President”doesn’t reflect the same themes described in Ta-Nehisi

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