From Reconstruction to the new Black politician: Barack Obama and a legacy of public representation

This dissertation examines shifts in the public meaning of the Black American politician, from the very first men who ventured into their roles as “colored men of distinction” to the time of Barack Hussein Obama II. It demonstrates how Black politicians, the mainstream media, and the American public shaped a narrative over race and American identity during the years of Reconstruction to the beginning of the 20th century and how that meaning shaped Obama’s public reception during the 2008 Democratic nominating contest (focusing on his greatest crisis during that period, the Jeremiah Wright controversy). Throughout the dissertation, I looked at how media producers informed ways of thinking about Black politicians, particularly when it comes to the public’s perceptions of competency and the extent to which the public believed these politicians could represent all citizens, not merely Black Americans. In the cultural studies tradition, I utilized multi-theoretical and methodological tools to find the answers to my research questions. As a multiplicity of new artifacts is created, new analyses develop. As new analyses develop, new constructions of the Black politician emerge, and collective memory of Black political leadership solidifies in the public consciousness. This is how we have always negotiated memory of public leaders and pivotal events. But just as important as the knowledge of these phenomena is who gathers that knowledge, how it is constructed, and to what aim.