1. The New Mainstream: Obama’s win would be the culmination of a process of inclusion that began with Andrew Jackson. “I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.” -Obama “A More Perfect Union” Speech Author: Orlando Patterson

2. Historic Points  Slavery brought all classes of whites together  Civil War and emancipation was not able to eliminate the culture of slavery  Jim Crow system; exclusion  Civil-rights revolution-attitudes changed, rejection of notions of racial inferiority by majority  Obama’s election is peak of democratic inclusion started by Andrew Jackson  “It’s now clear that blacks and women are ready, able and poised to lead the nation”

3. Social Incorporation?  2003-2005 black median household income: $30,945; 62% of white median  High rates of downward mobility  Black poverty rate rose from 21.2% in 2000 to 24.5% in 2007  Private sphere: “more separate now, in most areas of the country, than at the end of the ’60s”  “Blacks mingle with whites in the public sphere, often in positions of authority, then after work return to gilded ghettos or segregated slums blighted by unemployment, violence, addiction and horrendous rates of youth incarceration.”  Pattern of being most endogamous group in nation-contrast to all other nonwhite groups who assimilate at higher rates  Q: Why do you think this is?

4. Why?  White Americans racially prejudiced in personal relations  Racial preferences, ethnocultural differences  Q: Are there other reasons?  Past black leaders: “separation always entails inequality”  Later black leaders: “actively promoted apartness in personal life”  Current black leaders: “separate by truly equal in private life”  “Persisting separation of blacks in private life is a tragedy for the group, since it cuts them off from vital social networks and the essential cultural capital that comes only from intimate social relations with successful members of the dominant group.”

5. Obama Presidency  “…use the presidency to encourage blacks to embrace those mainstream cultural values and practices that have served him so well.”  “…living demonstration of what integration promises.”  Do you see Obama’s presidency having the effect the author claims in respect to increases in integration?

6. What Effect Would Obama’s Election Have on Race Relations? By: David R. Roediger  New inequalities emerge in response to new events  One moment race on way out, next changeless  Pew Center studies: whites said would vote for black candidate, but don’t pull the voting booth lever  Obama’s candidacy would help immigration, racial intermarriage, transracial adoptions, successful Black middle class  Will race be a matter of choice?  Inequalities not being discussed in election so can’t tell if race will or will not survive in the 21 st century