The Black Republican

A liberal journalist invokes the other "N" word in a column in the LA Times. I think it is an important development, but I am not yet sure why. So, I'll leave it to the reader to witness the remarks of David Ehrenstein.

"But it's clear that Obama also is running for an equally important unelected office, in the province of the popular imagination — the "Magic Negro."

The Magic Negro is a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. "He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist," reads the description on Wikipedia http://en.-wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Negro .

He's there to assuage white "guilt" (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history, while replacing stereotypes of a dangerous, highly sexualized black man with a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest."

And I'll also give you access to Rush's take on Ehrenstein's essay.

"So, those of you white people out there who are supporting Barack Obama, you are racists. That is the point that David Ehrenstein is making. You're attempting to assuage all of your white guilt by supporting Obama, is worthless, because you're just exhibiting racism because you know he's not a "real black." "

I will also remind you of what Juan Williams and Brit Hume had to say about how being black affects Obama's chances at election.

Lastly, I must say that I just now learning that the M.N. term exists, and I am not happy to have it as part of the American lexicon.