--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What White America and Black America…" description: "\"What White America and Black America wanted and expected from Obama were fundamentally different and opposite things.\" — Joy Reid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/joy-reid-6005_america_what-white-america-and-black-america-wan_65566.jpg" --- # What White America and Black America wanted and expected… ![“What White America and Black America wanted and expected from Obama were fundamentally different and opposite things.” quote by Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/joy-reid-6005_america_what-white-america-and-black-america-wan_65566.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/joy-reid-6005_america_what-white-america-and-black-america-wan_65566.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/joy-reid-6005_america_what-white-america-and-black-america-wan_65566.jpg) > “What White America and Black America wanted and expected from Obama were fundamentally different and opposite things.” [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the divergent expectations of white and Black Americans toward Obama, reflecting deep racial and political divides in perceived policy outcomes and symbolic representation. **In simple terms:** Racial expectations clash. Key Takeaway Different groups saw Obama as opposing symbols. Themes Racism Political polarization Identity politics Expectations Societal division Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type political commentary sociopolitical observation When to use this quote - campaign messaging - media analysis - voter behavior studies - community forums Key Concepts racial dynamics public perception policy impact Practical Applications - targeted political communication - policy framing for diverse audiences Questions to Reflect On - How do divergent expectations shape political accountability? - What mechanisms can bridge perception gaps across racial lines? A Different Perspective While expectations differed, many shared hopes for economic improvement and social progress, suggesting some common ground. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ## Related quotes > [If Obama was fundamentally different from prior presidents, Trump seems to violate every tenet of what Americans have long sought as our national image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/if-obama-was-fundamentally-different-from-prior-presidents-trump/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [I personally never expected anything of Obama, and wrote about it before the 2008 primaries. I thought it was smoke and mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-personally-never-expected-anything-of-obama-and-wrote-about-it-2/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [To be white in America is to assume, with total self-confidence and little afterthought, the personal ownership of public spaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/to-be-white-in-america-is-to-assume-with-total-self-confidence-and/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [In several short years, Obama has fundamentally shifted the balance away from the individual and toward government, and has altered the national psyche from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-crowley/in-several-short-years-obama-has-fundamentally-shifted-the-balance/) [Monica Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-crowley/) > [To be white in America is to have the confidence to say, without a second thought: this space, this neighborhood, this city, this county,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/to-be-white-in-america-is-to-have-the-confidence-to-say-without-a/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [President Barack Obama read to a certain portion of white America as an unending attack on white Christian identity, centrality and cultural relevance. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/president-barack-obama-read-to-a-certain-portion-of-white-america-as/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [There's a part of you that you can get a hold of, and there's a part of you that you can never get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/there-s-a-part-of-you-that-you-can-get-a-hold-of-and-there-s-a-part/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“Therefore, your identity is the opposite of the things you’re trying to avoid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-mckey/therefore-your-identity-is-the-opposite-of-the-things-you-re-trying/) [Zoe McKey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-mckey/) > [Across planes of consciousness, we have to live with the paradox that opposite things can be simultaneously true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/across-planes-of-consciousness-we-have-to-live-with-the-paradox-that/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Look. We both know life is short, Macy. Too short to waste a single second with anyone who doesn't appreciate and value you." You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/look-we-both-know-life-is-short-macy-too-short-to-waste-a-single/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“Avery." "Cam?" "What are you up to?" "Nothing. Everything." "Those are two opposite things." "I know. Kiss me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/avery-cam-what-are-you-up-to-nothing-everything-those-are-two/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“I THINK TENSION AND FAITH IN GOD ARE TWO OPPOSITE THINGS.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-hyder/i-think-tension-and-faith-in-god-are-two-opposite-things/) [USMAN HYDER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-hyder/) > [No man is able to make progress when he is wavering between opposite things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/no-man-is-able-to-make-progress-when-he-is-wavering-between-opposite/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [What typically happens in government is the exact opposite of how things should work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/what-typically-happens-in-government-is-the-exact-opposite-of-how/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [“It’s as if we believe the general duties of love are fundamentally different from our specific duties as husbands and wives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-t-smith/it-s-as-if-we-believe-the-general-duties-of-love-are-fundamentally/) [Winston T. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-t-smith/) ## More by Joy Reid > [Trump is reviled around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/trump-is-reviled-around-the-world/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [If Obama was fundamentally different from prior presidents, Trump seems to violate every tenet of what Americans have long sought as our national image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/if-obama-was-fundamentally-different-from-prior-presidents-trump/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [In many ways, Trump is both a boon and a bane to Republicans. His insanity and moral decrepitude keep the country focused on things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/in-many-ways-trump-is-both-a-boon-and-a-bane-to-republicans-his/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [To be white in America is to assume, with total self-confidence and little afterthought, the personal ownership of public spaces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/to-be-white-in-america-is-to-assume-with-total-self-confidence-and/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Dwight Eisenhower presented a face of America that was heroic and resolute; Ronald Reagan represented a return to confidence and glamour after the weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/dwight-eisenhower-presented-a-face-of-america-that-was-heroic-and/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Trump's affinity for Russia dates back at least to the late 1980s, during the time of the Soviet Union, and it intensified after his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/trump-s-affinity-for-russia-dates-back-at-least-to-the-late-1980s/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Trump's more outre economic ideas, like repealing trade bills and implementing a massive surcharge on imports, would seem like non-starters in a Republican-led House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/trump-s-more-outre-economic-ideas-like-repealing-trade-bills-and/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Too great a love for the presidency has caused Democrats to neglect state and local politics and to overly prize compromise and a futile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/too-great-a-love-for-the-presidency-has-caused-democrats-to-neglect/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Bill Clinton had a hell of a first 24 months, even though he, like Trump, enjoyed a congressional majority. Scandal after scandal befell the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/bill-clinton-had-a-hell-of-a-first-24-months-even-though-he-like/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Whether on guns, race, culture or feminism, there really are two Americas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/whether-on-guns-race-culture-or-feminism-there-really-are-two-americas/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [The sharp differences between the way city dwellers and rural, suburban and exurban residents vote, think and live cannot be papered over by federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/the-sharp-differences-between-the-way-city-dwellers-and-rural/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Even without the euphoria of 'yes we can,' Hillary Clinton is to white women what Barack Obama was to African-Americans. She represents the opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/even-without-the-euphoria-of-yes-we-can-hillary-clinton-is-to-white/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [If you've never feared the police - if you don't get a dull ache in the pit of your stomach when you see red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/if-you-ve-never-feared-the-police-if-you-don-t-get-a-dull-ache-in-the/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [Republicans don't vote Republican because of Nancy Pelosi. They vote Republican because they are Republicans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/republicans-don-t-vote-republican-because-of-nancy-pelosi-they-vote/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [I've written before that the president is our national avatar - a stand-in for what we believe we are, or want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/i-ve-written-before-that-the-president-is-our-national-avatar-a-stand/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) [Explore all 100 Joy Reid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What White America and Black America wanted and expected from Obama were fundamentally different and opposite things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joy Reid" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/what-white-america-and-black-america-wanted-and-expected-from-obama/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/what-white-america-and-black-america-wanted-and-expected-from-obama/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/joy-reid-6005_america_what-white-america-and-black-america-wan_65566.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/joy-reid-6005_america_what-white-america-and-black-america-wan_65566.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eba/joy-reid-6005_america_what-white-america-and-black-america-wan_65566.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What White America and Black America wanted and expected from Obama were fundamentally different and…” — Joy Reid", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joy Reid", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What White America and Black America...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/what-white-america-and-black-america-wanted-and-expected-from-obama/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/what-white-america-and-black-america-wanted-and-expected-from-obama/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```