Obama’s race-avoidance reinforced the illusion of a post-racial nation

Evidence

But for much of his presidency, Obama constantly contorted to avoid the racial land mines of American politics. The acrobatics affirm the troublesome idea that serious engagement with racial inequality in this country is anathema. The irony is glaring, isn’t it? The first black president can’t call attention to the racial habits that get in the way of genuine democracy, but his election can lead some to believe the illusion that we’re post-racial. — Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Democracy in Black, 180

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to assessing how the black electoral strategy toward Democrats was already failing under the first black president; connects to the trap thesis the reader is investigating.