The Obama presidency represented a major milestone in African American history. The very presence of a black First Family had a profound cultural impact, but did the Obama White House actually addressed any of the ongoing issues faced by Black America? Did communities of color organized sufficiently to voice their concerns? How could lessons learned from past freedom struggles guide the organizing that's needed to meet today's opportunities and challenges?
To explore these questions in depth, international journalist Joanne Griffith traveled the country to interview black intellectuals, activists, authors and educators, including former advisor to former President Obama, Van Jones; civil rights advocate and litigator, Michelle Alexander; economist, Julianne Malveaux; and friend and speech writer for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Vincent Harding.
The result was a wide-ranging exploration of the hot-button issues facing America today, from economics, education and the law, to the cultural impact of mass media. Timely and rich in personal wisdom, Redefining Black Power connects the dots between past freedom struggles and the future of black civic and cultural life in the United States.
REDEFINING BLACK POWER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
By Joanne Griffith-Poplar
1: The Movement for the Expansion and Deepening of Democracy in America
A Conversation of Context with Dr. Vincent Harding
2. What about the Brother at the Bottom of the Well?
Law in the Age of Obama with Professor Michelle Alexander
3. Dollars and Sense? Race, Recession and Recovery
Racial equality and economic parity with Dr. Julianne Malveaux
4. Barack Obama: The New Crack?
A Story of Revolution with Ramona Africa
5. Probing the President: The Media's Paralysis of Analysis?
A Conversation on race, the press and the White House with Linn Washington
6. It Matters What Needs to be Done
Politics and Green Activism with Van Jones
7. A Quiet Victory for Emotional Justice
The impact of the First Family on the African American Psyche with Esther
