Stars and shadows : the politics of interracial friendship from Jefferson to Obama / Saladin Ambar

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saladin Ambar, author.

Series:

Oxford Academic

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Race relations.

fraternity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2022

Summary:

Stars and Shadows is the first book to provide a comprehensive history of the political significance of interracial friendship in American politics. From Thomas Jefferson's abrupt connection with Benjamin Banneker to the rich and familiar friendship between Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the book traces the ways in which such friendships have been integral to demonstrating the possibilities-and, at times, shortcomings-of multiracial democracy in America. By invoking less familiar as well as well-covered examples ranging from Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass to Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, Stars and Shadows offers an innovative approach to thinking about the relationship between racial equality, political leadership, and personal friendship. Taking the metaphor of Stars and Shadows from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, this text exposes the strengths and weaknesses endemic to America's quest to become a truly egalitarian nation.

Contents:

Contents: Introduction: Tea and Cigars: The Case for Friendship - 1. An Exchange of Letters: Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson - 2. Three Meetings: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln - 3. Color Lines: W. E. B. Du Bois and William James - 4. First Ladies: Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt - 5. Veins: Ralph Ellison, Shirley Jackson, and Stanley Hyman - 6. Scripts: James Baldwin and Marlon Brando - 7. Mocambo: Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe - 8. Riverside: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel - 9. Icons and Intersectionalities: Angela Davis and Gloria Steinem - 10. A Bestowal: Barack Obama and Joe Biden - Notes - References - Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-19-762201-1

0-19-762202-X

0-19-762200-3

OCLC:

1312172442