Post-race? Nation, inheritance and the contradictory performativity of race in Barack Obama's 'A more perfect union' speech

Abstract

This article takes the speech that Barack Obama made in his campaign for democratic nomination in 2008 as a moment in the performativity of race. It argues that Obama was unable to sustain an attempt to be 'post race', but is also asks the extent to which Obama was able to re-write the way in which race is positioned within the US, particularly with reference to the place of African-Americans within the national narrative.