MixedThe Boston Globe“The Black Presidency largely overlooks Obama’s symbolic power as the first black president, both to African-Americans and to the nation. Moreover, though at times sympathetic to the competing pressures the president faces, Dyson doesn’t really deal with Obama’s central conundrum: When he does hold whites accountable for racial injustice, he alienates them, thereby undermining chances of getting progressive legislation passed that benefits minorities. Dyson doesn’t solve — or even address — the dilemma of how Obama can help blacks without risking losing the support of whites.
