84. Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama - Tim Wise

In this book, Tim Wise does a great job of analyzing racism and race relations post-Obama's victory as the first black president. He argues that "Racism 1.0," or typical, overt bigotry, has morphed into "Racism 2.0" - the idea that Obama has "transcended race" and that he is "different from regular black people." Wise argues that

White folks may "need" black folks to be Obama-like in style, affect, erudition, and educational background in order to be considered competent or trustworthy ...

... and that ultimately, this hurts African Americans. I was very impressed by Wise's analysis - as a white American, he really seemed to have done his research and to understand a lot of nuances of the issues he discusses. I was nodding emphatically while reading the book when Wise was explaining how Obama is "the Cliff Huxtable of politics" and that he is "attaining the lofty pinnacle of 'Huxtability.'"

Another quote I really like (that's actually from Michael Eric Dyson):

In a sense, if one conceives of racism as a cell phone, then active malice is the ring tone on its highest volume, while passive indifference is the ring tone on vibrate. In either case, whether loudly or silently, the consequence is the same: a call is transmitted, a racial message is communicated.

Wise also argues that many white Americans do not realize how they continue to benefit from a system of "entrenched privileges." While a lot of what he said was not new, I really liked how Wise was able to make his arguments in the context of "post-Obama America." And what a catchy title!