President George Bush, our 43 rd. President, in a noted speech in Africa at Goree Island
Senegal, described the “forced migration of slavery in America, as one of the greatest
crimes of history.” He also ended his historic speech by not only extolling the herculean
efforts of protest for change of various Americans to end this terrible blight in the
Republic”, but arguing that the nation was on the right course, eventually.
Many, in the nation and beyond, viewed the election of the 44th President Barack Obama,
as a sign that finally major progress would now be hastened on the race relations front.
Political pundits, and even social scientists, described this new phenomenon as “post racial
America.” Yet, in reality, it is now largely agreed that the Obama era has seen a hardening
and worsening of Race Relations in the nation.
a) How do you explain this phenomenon, especially in the context of our analysis and
examination of some of the protest leaders and national mood during these 15
weeks? How for example did LBJ, Reagan and MLK try, if any, to move America in a
positive direction?
b) Finally outline a programmatic schema (legislative, executive action, educational
economic, etc.) and through “protest for change”, that you contend would positively
modify this blot on our democracy/ republic, and hasten the incremental change
slowly being made.