After first-term caution, Obama dives deeper on racePosted in Articles, Barack Obama, Media Archive, Politics/Public Policy, United States on 2014-03-03 04:44Z by Steven |
After first-term caution, Obama dives deeper on race
USA Today
2014-02-27
Aamer Madhani, White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON — During his first term, President Obama waded gingerly into the issue of race, mindful of the historic nature of his presidency while at the same time downplaying its significance.
With a couple of exceptions — criticizing a police officer who arrested a prominent black Harvard University scholar as he fumbled to open the door to his home and speaking in personal terms about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin — Obama didn’t make any big headlines on the issue early in his presidency.
But deep into his second term, Obama talks about race with a frequency and frankness that has left some black policymakers and activists cautiously optimistic about the nation’s first black president’s final years in office.
In recent weeks, the president has begun to draw the outlines for the legacy he hopes to leave on race and civil rights…
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