''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 Michae ...

, published by

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American synchronized sound film, sound romance film, romantic comedy drama, comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a ...

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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

did not signal the end of racism in America, 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'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' 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 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