Towards a Pragmatic Black Politics?

Abstract

This article examines black public opinion in the wake of the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States. The artcile asks whether there has been a shift in black attitudes from a more activist-oriented approach to challenging racial inequality to a more moderate, pragmatic approach. This pragmatism in black public opinion acknowledges the persistence of racial inequality and racism in society, but sees individual solutions as a cure rather than government action.