Barack Obama's Address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention: Trauma, Compromise, Consilience, and the (Im)possibility of Racial Reconciliation
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Date
2005
Authors
Frank, David A.
McPhail, Mark Lawrence
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Michigan State University Press
Abstract
The two authors of this article offer alternative readings of Barack Obama’s July
27, 2004, address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC) as an
experiment in interracial collaborative rhetorical criticism, one in which they
“write together separately.” David A. Frank judges Obama’s speech a prophetic
effort advancing the cause of racial healing. Mark Lawrence McPhail finds
Obama’s speech, particularly when it is compared to Reverend Al Sharpton’s
DNC speech of July 28, 2004, an old vision of racelessness. Despite their different
readings of Obama’s address, both authors conclude that rhetorical scholars have
an important role to play in cultivating a climate of racial reconciliation.
Description
24 p.
Keywords
Citation
Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 8:4 (2005): 571-594