''Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama'' is a non-fiction book by the anti-racist writer and educator

Tim Wise Timothy Jacob Wise (born October 4, 1968) is an American activist and writer on the topic of race. He is a consultant who provides anti-racism lectures to institutions. Early life and education Wise was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Michael ...

, published by

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...

in 2009. In the book Wise argues that the election of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

did not signal the end of

racism in America Racism in the United States comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in the United States, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and ...

, writing that his political success could instead "deepen the denial in which so much of the white public has been embedded for generations."

Critical reception

Adam Bradley from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' stated that "the punning title of ise'sbook, ''Between Barack and a Hard Place'', belies the sobering material within. Wise paints a stark picture of racial inequality in the United States today. . . .Wise's short book reads like an old-school polemic: Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' for the 21st century. . . . A post-racial United States is an imagined country." Referring to Wise's background as an educator,

Media Mouse Media Mouse was a Grand Rapids, Michigan independent media group founded in 1999. In 2004 the group's primary focus shifted to providing regular news coverage of "progressive" movements for social change in Grand Rapids that were posted online vi ...

points to how Wise's book "continues the excellent work around the issue of White Privilege that Wise has pounded home in his books, articles, and public talks across the country."

References

External links

Tim Wise's official website
{{Barack Obama 2009 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Books about Barack Obama Anti-racism in the United States Works about White Americans Books about race and ethnicity in the United States