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What was Multiculturalism?

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Precarious International Multicultural Education

Part of the book series: Transgressions ((TRANS,volume 84))

Abstract

Early into his United States presidency in 2009, Barack Obama gently chided Eric H. Holder, the first African-American to hold the position of attorney general, for suggesting that America was a “nation of cowards” when it comes to discussing race. Holder was surely right, if not politic, in naming what is, among other things, a fitting commentary on multiculturalism and education in general. In support of Holder’s stance, Obama had to allow that “we could probably be more constructive in facing up to sort of the painful legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination” (Cooper, 2009, p. Y22). However, the sometime post-racial president also went on to say that he did not believe that “talking about race somehow solves racial tensions”, but that “fixing the economy”, as well as improving health care and the schools, would lead to more “fruitful conversations” (Cooper, 2009, p. Y22).

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Authors
  1. John Willinsky
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Handel Kashope Wright Michael Singh Richard Race

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© 2012 Sense Publishers

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Willinsky, J. (2012). What was Multiculturalism?. In: Wright, H.K., Singh, M., Race, R. (eds) Precarious International Multicultural Education. Transgressions, vol 84. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-894-0_2

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