The Significance of Mixed-Race: Public Perceptions of Barack Obama’s Race and the Effect of Obama’s Race on Public Support for His Presidency

Abstract

This research paper seeks to understand white, black, and mixed-race Americans’ perceptions of President Barack Obama’s racial identity and the influence that those perceptions have on favorability towards the President. While political pundits and academic researchers tend to emphasize Obama’s status as the first black President, this research finds that the Americans generally conceptualize Obama as mixed-race. A majority of whites and mixed-race Americans, and a third of blacks, conceptualize Obama as mixed-race. These Americans identify Obama as mixed-race to distinguish him from black people, interests, and values. Moreover, Obama’s perceived race has political significance; whites generally respond more favorably to a perceived mixed-race Obama while blacks respond more favorably to a perceived black Obama. Mixed-race Americans are more likely to perceive Obama to be mixed-race and also more likely to support Obama, presumably because of group commonalities they share. The group closest to Obama’s identity, mixed-race Americans who self-identify as black, respond most favorably towards Obama. These findings indicate that mixed-race Americans are actively supporting mixed-race public officials who share distinct commonalities with them. More importantly, the way most Americans conceptualize race appears to be changing dramatically to accommodate this emerging mixed-race population.