Primary Format: Cloth | |
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ISBN: | 9781611685367 |
Published: | 02/09/2016 |
Pages: | 240 |
Size: | 6 x 9 in. |
Subject(s): |
As Barack Obama enters the last of his eight years in office, reflections on his legacy abound. Yet Kaplan’s musings rise above the pack. Examining Obama as a folk hero, a man and the first black president, Kaplan offers a compelling portrait of a leader charged with reforming a racist nation, and she doesn’t shy from expressing her love and admiration.
—Ms.
Kaplan artfully combines reportage and self-inquiry to tell a story about collective yearning and hope, against a backdrop of disillusionment and despair. I Heart Obama will become part of an essential post-presidency discussion. Kaplan’s trenchant and heartfelt examination pushes that conversation forward.
—Lynell George, journalist, essayist, and author of No Crystal Stair: African Americans in the City of Angels
Erin Aubry Kaplan has long been one of our bravest, most discerning writers on race. Here she takes the full measure of the complex feelings African Americans have about the first Black president-Obama as a folk hero, Black Superman, entertainer/heartthrob; as lone rider, cultural terrorist, neoliberal opportunist, purveyor of respectability politics, symbol of a failed Black revolution; as ‘just a man.’ In capturing a broad sweep of voices present and past, she weaves a unique, powerful, and richly nuanced narrative about Black America right now.
—Jeff Chang, author of Who We Be: The Colorization of America
ERIN AUBRY KAPLAN has been a journalist covering black issues for twenty-five years, including nine years as a staff writer for LA Weekly, and two years as a weekly op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Her work has been anthologized, and she is the recipient of a PEN Center West award for literary journalism. She is the author of Black Talk, Blue Thoughts, and Walking the Color Line.