Not Working for Latinos
What Randy Kennedy calls "transracial universalism" might net an individual politician, such as President Obama, substantive and remarkable political gains, but this kind of dialogue does not help America in developing a deeper and more subtle understanding of race relations in the 21st century.
Professor Kennedy points out in his book that African-Americans, whom he calls the president's "racial tribe," have been solidly supportive of him. Recent Gallup polls show Obama's approval rating is 83 percent among African-Americans, about double that of his overall rating. By contrast, less than a majority of Latinos, 44 percent, approve of Obama's performance.
Latino support was crucial to Obama's victory in 2008 and will be important to his re-election bid. Obama's share of the Latino vote in 2008, upward of 65 percent, in key states of Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, is credited with delivering these states' electoral votes. In these Western states, the Latino vote is large and able to swing the state. Which means that President Obama must secure the Latino vote, if he wishes to be a two-term president.
President Obama cannot practice universalism racial politics and count on Latino electoral support. Latinos do not see themselves as part of Obama's racial tribe, and the president has failed to deliver on his campaign promises. There has been no satisfactory immigration reform, and economically Latinos are much worse off now than they were in 2008.
Candidate Obama's immigration narrative — the son of a Kenyan father who was a foreign student and fell in love with an American; a childhood lived overseas; and his merit-based rise through education and hard work — struck a chord with the Latino voters. Many Latinos are one or two generations removed from the immigrant experience.
Candidate Obama's transracial universalism worked for him as a candidate, because he had no record. He was multiracial, and he asked Americans of all races to hope. Each racial group projected onto candidate Obama their hopes and aspirations for a better racial future. Latinos hoped for an immigration reformer. Now that President Obama has a record, hope must make way for results, and transracial universalism is not likely to produce results.