What Is Deracialization, And How Does It Impact This Election?

How should African American candidates try to reach out to white voters? Because of a legacy of racism in the United States, black candidates have historically faced difficulties convincing some whites to vote for them. Some voters will never be convinced to vote for a black candidate, but how does a black candidate win over non-black voters who may be able to be convinced to vote for a black candidate? Some candidates have resorted to a strategy called deracialization to maximize their crossover appeal.

Deracializtion is a campaign strategy in which black candidates deemphasize racial issues in their campaign, choosing instead to focus on issues that have a broad appeal. Charles Hamilton first recommended this strategy in the 1970's after Republicans won working class white voters who thought that Democrats spent too much time embracing civil rights issues. In effect, African American candidates should, according to deracialization theory, focus their campaigns on issues that can be seen as benefiting, unifying,developing platforms that appeal primarily to the African American community.

For all intents and purposes, Barack Obama is running a deracialized campaign. When Obama began his presidential campaign at the old state capital in Springfield, Illinois, Obama’s rhetoric emphasized such tenets as uplifting our economy, focusing on healthcare reform, revitalizing our education system, ending the War in the Middle East, and fixing the broken system of bureaucracy that defines Washington. These goals are not racially driven and were designed to appeal to all Americans.

While Senator Obama’s use of deracialized tactics has obviously been largely responsible for getting him within striking distance of being elected to the highest office in the United States of America, and arguably the world, we must carefully examine some of the ways in which his candidacy can be compromised by deracialization. Some blacks will be offended by his tendency to deal gingerly with racial issues. For instance, in an interview on "The Tavis Smiley Show" just after Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Drs. Cornell West and Julianne Malveaux criticized Senator Obama for failing to explicitly mention Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. They thought it was awkward at best and cowardly at worst for him to not mention King by name on the 45th Anniversary of the March on Washington.

Additionally, we have seen in this race and in previous races that deracialized strategies do not provide candidates from immunity from racial attacks. Harvey Gantt ran deracialized campaigns against Jesse Helms in North Carolina in 1990 and 1996, and Helms still primed white consternation over affirmative action to help him win.

On the whole, should Senator Obama indeed be elected in November, it will be fascinating to see how he addresses race. Does his deracialized campaign strategy mean that racial issues will not be a priority in an Obama White House? If he does not address racial disparities, will blacks be as enthusiastic about his reelection bid in 2012? And if he does address racial issues, will non-blacks abandon his political coalition? These are questions that only time can answer.


For further reading:

Charles Hamilton. 1977. "Deracialization." First World. March/April 1977.

Georgia Persons (Ed.). 1993. Dilemmas in Black Politics. New York: Harper Collins.