Obama victory unworthy of the long civil rights battle

Obama a hollow prize for African-Americans

A Columbia University professor of Political Science and Director of Columbia University’s Center on African-American Politics and Society is calling the Obama presidency, a “hollow win for African-Americans.”

In his new book The Price of the Ticket, Frederick  Harris suggests that the president’s reluctance to push black issues over gay rights and immigrations rights has undermined the efforts of civil rights pioneers whose work made his presidency possible.

They are his most unified and ardent supporters, but now some blacks are questioning whether it was worth making a “race-neutral” president the first African-American in the Oval Office since they’ve received far less attention than other key constituencies such as gays.

In a new book expected to stir up debate about President Obama’s blackness, a Columbia University scholar calls Obama a “hollow prize” for African-Americans and his victory unworthy of the long civil rights battle for racial equality.

“One day the question will be asked–years if not decades from now–whether the sacrifices of previous generations were worth the rise of a ‘race-neutral’ black president, whose ascendancy was made possible by their efforts,” writes Fredrick Harris in “The Price of the Ticket,” his new book.