Renowned for his insightful, common-sense critiques of racial politics, Randall Kennedy gives us a shrewd and penetrating analysis of the complex relationship between the first black president and his African-American constituency.

Kennedy tackles such hot-button issues as the nature of racial opposition to Obama; whether Obama has a singular responsibility to African Americans; the differences in Obamas presentation of himself to blacks and to whites; the challenges posed by the dream of a post-racial society; the increasing irrelevance of a certain kind of racial politics and its consequences; the complex symbolism of Obamas achievement and his own obfuscations and evasions regarding racial justice.

Eschewing the critical excesses of both the left and the right, Kennedy offers an incisive view of Obamas triumphs and travails, his strengths and weaknesses, as they pertain to the troubled history of race in America.