ARC Releases Edited Volume Analyzing Racial Politics and Election of Barack Obama
Linda Burnham, Editor

Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or dkar@arc.org

October 1, 2009: The Applied Research Center (ARC) has released an edited volume featuring 20 prominent thinkers and activists on race and the 2008 election, Changing the Race: Racial Politics and the Election of Barack Obama. This election reader comes just as the nation debates whether the aggressive criticism of President Obama over the past few months is rooted in racism.

  Changing the Race comprises a collection of thoughtful essays analyzing the complexities of how race played out in the presidential race. These writers identify the trends, the lessons, the facts and the lies.

Each contributor to Changing the Race provides a different dimension of the racial puzzle. Among the 16 essays include "Obama's Candidacy: The Advent of Post-Racial America and the End of Black Politics?” by Women of Color Resource Center cofounder Linda Burnham and "Swinging Virginia in Roanoke" by The Nation and Guardian (UK) columnist Gary Younge.

Race is a defining factor in the way our society is structured and in the way our elections and politics are contested. Much progress has been made since the Civil Rights era, but much ground has also been lost. The popular notion of racism as personal prejudice ignores the historic and systemic inequities that continue to produce everyday benefits and burdens based on race.

"Changing the Race asks and answers compelling questions about the 2008 election, including whether President Obama's election has ushered in a new &l'post-racial' era," says ARC executive director Rinku Sen. "The authors provide a resounding 'no.' Obama's presidency may be a most important cultural symbol of racial progress, but on the ground, people are still waiting and working for change."

FOUNDED IN 1981, the Applied Research Center is America's largest think tank on race. ARC investigates the hidden racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks to resolve racially charged debates. With offices in New York, Chicago, and Oakland, ARC serves its mission through three program areas: Media and Journalism, Strategic Research and Policy Analysis, and the Racial Justice Leadership Action Network. ARC is also the publisher of ColorLines magazine.