A Day Late and a Dollar Short: High Hopes and Deferred Dreams in Obama’s Post-racial America

Could this be the final victory for civil rights, or the first of many to come? Beyond the initial euphoria of witnessing a breakthrough that many African-Americans never thought they would see in their lifetime, what does the election of Barack Obama really mean to Black America and race relations in this country? Talking to African-American men and women from all walks of life, Joe Jeter and Robert Pierre find hope, apathy, anger, and joy, and paint a nuanced portrait of a side of the nation rarely seen in the national spotlight. * Goes beyond uplifting rhetoric to expose the deeper thoughts and feelings of Black America on a landmark achievement in U.S. history * Gives readers a State of the Black Union address, timed for Obama’s first official State of the Union address. Written by Jon Jeter, a former producer for NPR’s This American Life and Robert Pierre, a reporter for the Washington Post * Tells the stories of people from across the spectrum of African-American experience, from a hip-hop activist to a well-off small business owner, from an aging sugar plantation worker to a soldier in Iraq Honest and engaging, In Obama’s Wake paints a picture of the nation that the rest of the media rarely looks at.