Between Barack and a Hard Place

Between Barack and a Hard Place
AuthorTim Wise
LanguageEnglish
SubjectBarack Obama, racism in the United States
PublisherCity Lights
Publication date
2009
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages159
ISBN978-0-87286-500-6
OCLC261176371

Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama is a non-fiction book by the anti-racist writer and educator Tim Wise, published by City Lights in 2009.[1][2]

In the book Wise argues that the election of Barack Obama did not signal the end of racism in America,[3] writing that his political success could instead "deepen the denial in which so much of the white public has been embedded for generations."[4]

Critical reception

Adam Bradley from The Washington Post stated that "the punning title of [Wise's] book, Between Barack and a Hard Place, belies the sobering material within. Wise paints a stark picture of racial inequality in the United States today. . . .Wise's short book reads like an old-school polemic: Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' for the 21st century. . . . A post-racial United States is an imagined country."[5] Referring to Wise's background as an educator, Media Mouse points to how Wise's book "continues the excellent work around the issue of White Privilege that Wise has pounded home in his books, articles, and public talks across the country."[6]

References

  1. ^ "Stacey Lewis Interview with Tim Wise". City Lights. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  2. ^ Tim Wise (April 4, 2009). "Tim Wise - Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama". Book TV. Memphis. C-SPAN. White Privilege Conference. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  3. ^ Wormer, Katherine Van (2010). Human Behavior and the Social Environment (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-974007-9.
  4. ^ Jones, Sandra J. (2010). Coalition Building in the Anti-death Penalty Movement. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7391-2038-5.
  5. ^ Bradley, Adam (March 29, 2009). "Can We Get Past Race?". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  6. ^ "Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama". Media Mouse. February 24, 2009.