Rinku Sen has written a piece on postracialism for "On The Issues Magazine." In the Fall ’09 edition, writers and artists address the politics of feminism, race and a new progressive movement. Below is an excerpt from "Taking on Postracialism" by Rinku Sen:
Something happened in the months leading up to and including the election of Barack Obama as the President of the United States, something that people working for racial justice could see coming at us like a tornado. The word “postracial” cropped up on cable news, in OpEd columns and, finally, at kitchen tables and around neighborhood bars. The rise of a man of color, indeed a black man, to the most influential political position in the world symbolized that the country had resolved its racial issues. Democratic party triumphalism fed this notion – not only did we beat back the GOP, but we also made history! Postracialism grows out of the trope of colorblindness, but is even more aggressive in resisting racial justice standards. Like post-feminist, it implies not just a destination – a society that doesn’t use race to judge people – but asserts that we have arrived at that place. Postracialists are more hostile to changing structures and rules to address persistent racial disparities, which appear nowhere in the “postracial” story.