Analytical Essay on Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father

You will have to read and draft a 1,000-word Analytical Essay on Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father (ISBN-13: 978-1400082773). This essay will require you to assess the course of Barack Obama’s evolving views on questions of race and identity through the lens of William E. Cross’s Nigresence Model (a Black Psychological theory that we will be discussing during Week 1.) In writing this essay, you will argue what stage of the Nigresence Model Obama was in at the end of the book (and perhaps what stage he is in now), and describe how he got to that stage. Or, if you strongly disagree with the validity of Cross’s Nigresence Model, you will show how the presentation of Obama’s life that he provided in the book shows the limitations of Cross’s Nigresence Model. Be certain to review the General Tips for Writing College-Level Essays before drafting your essay. "Why Obama Can't Show Anger" by Jonathan Capehart (June 10, 2010) During the BP oil spill and several other social and political events, several members of the press have criticized President Obama for not showing enough emotion or getting angry. Some have suggested that such anger is just not a part of the president's personality. Columnist Jonathan Capehart argued that the president's lack of showing anger has more to do with the idea that, as a black man, the president knows that he can not show such passion without being labeled "An Angry Black Man." Read Capehart's column by clicking the above link. William E. Cross, Jr. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search William E. Cross, Jr. is a professor and head of the doctoral program in Higher Education at the University of Denver. Contents 1 Biography 2 Nigrescence 3 Published works 4 External links Biography Cross earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University and taught at Cornell University, Penn State, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is currently a Professor of Higher Education at the University of Denver in the Morgridge College of Education. Nigrescence Cross developed a 5 phase developmental theory of acquisition of Black identification. He called this theory Nigrescence, which is translated as: “the process of becoming Black." The five stages progress as follows: Pre-encounter Encounter Immersion Emersion Internalization The first stage refers to the time in one’s life when he/she are unaware of his/her race or racial implications. The second stage refers to the first occurrence of racial awareness. This stage takes place earlier in life among racial minorities than for the racial majority or the advantaged group (in terms of the definition of racism: the “superior” group). This is often the moment that a child remembers as the first time he/she was treated differently because of the color of his/her skin. The third stage is a time when a person (often in response to racial encounter) takes on all the identifying elements of his/her race. One becomes very much involved in being a member of his/her group and embracing all the behaviors, characteristics and features that are associated with being a member of that race. From a social stand point, one will spend time with those in his/her own race to the exclusion of members of other races. The fourth stage is the counterpart to the third stage. In the fourth stage one comes out of the absolute immersion and comes to find different behaviors, characteristics and features that they may want to take on from another race. Socially one begins to become more comfortable with and value relationships with members of other races. The final stage is the reaching of a balance. The balance involves the summation of choices and experiences one has throughout his/her identification process. A successful attainment of this process and the arrival at this final stage could be described as a level of comfort with one’s own race as well as the race of those around them. Throughout one’s life one may revisit different stages and repeat steps of this process and reformulate their racial identity and opinions. Repeating stages is not a regression but often a part of greater process of integrating new information and reevaluating ideas from a more mature standpoint. Which Race(s) Does President Obama Say He Belongs To? The 2010 Census asks citizens which race they belong to. There are sections for Black (African-American, Negro, etc.), White (Caucasian, etc.), Asian and Pacific Islander, Native American, and Other. Those who see themselves as belonging to multiple races can declare so. So, how did the son of a black Kenyan father and a white mother from Kansas declare what race he belonged to? Click the above link to find out. "A Brief For Whitey" by Patrick J. Buchanan On March 21, 2008, the following statement was posted to the official website of Patrick J. Buchanan, the former aide to President Nixon, multi-time presidential candidate, and conservative television commentator. It is Buchanan's response to Barack Obama's call for a broader conversation about race in America. Click on the link above to read the posting. Click here to Access a Blog on Racial Sensitivities In the Republican Party The above link will take you to a www(dot)Salon(dot)com blog titled "Good Grief, Haley Barbour" by Steve Kornacki. The blog focuses on what some have argued have been racially insensitive (or oblivious) statements that Mississippi's governor Haley Barbour made in the opening months of 2011. Governor Barbour was considering a run for the 2012 Republican party presidential nomination when he made these statements. Included within this blog is video that was taken at the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering of Republicans, Libertarians, and other generally conservative political activists. The video features young conservatives responding to a white nationalists who was attempting to recruit them to his cause. video http://m(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=zrp-v2tHaDo