{"id":1308,"date":"2013-07-25T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T09:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/07\/racial-violence-and-presidential-rhetoric.html"},"modified":"2013-07-25T09:41:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-25T09:41:00","slug":"racial-violence-and-presidential-rhetoric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2013\/07\/racial-violence-and-presidential-rhetoric.html","title":{"rendered":"Racial Violence and Presidential Rhetoric"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

by Edward Blum<\/a><\/span>
R3 Contributor<\/span>

<\/span>*This first appeared in the Christian Century\u2019s Then and Now<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

When\u00a0Barack Obama addressed the \u201cTrayvon Martin ruling\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Friday, he did more than offer his \u201cthought and prayers\u201d to the family of Martin, applaud them for their \u201cincredible grace and dignity,\u201d and narrate a history of racial surveillance that often leaves African Americans frustrated and even afraid. The president did more than acknowledge that the democratic judicial system had done its work, urge demonstrations to be peaceful, and call for close evaluations of \u201cstand your ground\u201d laws.<\/span><\/div>\n
Obama took a moment where the nation was viciously debating its most cherished values through the death of a child and cast a vision for a better future through other children. His daughters and their generation, Obama intoned, are \u201cbetter than we. They\u2019re better than we were on these issues.\u201d They would help create \u201cnot a perfect union, but a more perfect union.\u201d For a presidency defined by many firsts, this one seems to be yet another.<\/span><\/div>\n
Approaching the topic personally, historically and legislatively, Obama\u2019s speech stands out in the history of presidential addresses on race and violence. Often, American presidents have accepted racial violence, remained silent on it or hidden behind passivity:<\/span><\/div>\n