THE CREATION OF AN AMERICAN SUPER RACE:
AMERICAN SPORTING MEDIA’S CATEGORIZATION OF BARACK OBAMA
Open Access
Author:
Gabauer, Stephen James
Area of Honors:
Communication Arts and Sciences
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Lori Ann Bedell, Thesis Supervisor Lori Ann Bedell, Thesis Honors Advisor Bonnie Sierlecki, Thesis Supervisor James Hogan, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
tokenism Barack Obama sporting media
Abstract:
This paper explores sporting media’s attempts to link Barack Obama with an elite group
of black athletes including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Muhammad Ali because of
their common ability to transcend race. Media portrayal of successful black athletes in
this way resulted in the projection of a façade of racial equality. By aligning Obama’s
image with these black athletes who “transcend race,” this media rhetoric provided a way
for citizens to negotiate racial tensions surrounding Obama’s election as the first African-
American president. I argue that the media not only tokenized Obama, but categorized
him as a member of an elite “super race” consisting of former and current black athletes
who “transcend race” without disrupting America’s racial equilibrium.
