In the new book, "The Black President," Historian Claude Clegg situates the former president in a dynamic, inspirational, yet contentious political context. Clegg captures the America that made Obama's White House years possible, while insightfully rendering the America that resolutely resisted the idea of a Black chief executive, thus making conceivable the ascent of the most unlikely of his successors.
The book is also, at its core, a sweeping exploration of the Obama presidency's historical environment, impact, and meaning for African Americans—the tens of millions of people from every walk of life who collectively were his staunchest group of supporters and who most starkly experienced both the euphoric triumphs and dispiriting shortcomings of his years in office.
Dr. Claude Clegg III is the Lyle V. Jones Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
