Walking a Tightrope

Abstract

We examine columns of three Pulitzer Prize-winning African American columnists to identify the frames they used to offer perspective on the candidacy and early administration of Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States. The period under study stretches from the time when it became clear that Obama would be the Democratic Party's presidential nominee through the first six months of his administration. Using a typology we developed for identifying frames, we find that the columnists—Leonard Pitts of The Miami Herald, Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post, and Cynthia Tucker of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution—concentrated on a frame of duality that shows Obama defined by race while trying to transcend the moniker, a conflict successful African Americans have known all too well.