Obama's Swagga and CNN's House Negro

Hip-hop may have popularized "swagga", but that don't mean it's for everybody.



Does anybody else feel like this dude is one reason why white liberal racists believe themselves when they say, "I can't be racist, I have a black friend"? CNN must be so proud they found a spokesperson to translate "black culture" for them...

On a more serious note, this reference to Obama having swagga has to be added to the archive on the rise of new layers of leadership in communities of color that claim a sort of hip-hop legitimacy (see here and here for starters on Obama's hip-hop legitimacy). Whether we agree or disagree that Obama has swagga, the fact that he gets discussed on those terms has real significance for the legitimacy he gives to the white supremacist institutions he now manages.