Naja Pulliam Collins

1. Race and racism in the obama presidency By Naja Pulliam Collins

2. The president's image has been altered to look like a witch doctor and the first lady's a gorrilla in some cases. The idea of having a black family in the white house was initially so senitive a topic that every move he made was analyzed for racial undertones

3. One year into Obama's presidency. ABC News tried contacting some of the offenders of racial comments towards President Obama. Here are some then and nows from the article.

4. Rod Blagojevich (former Illinois governor) Then: Jan 2010 NOW “I am blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little Laundromat in a black community not far from where we lives. I saw it all growing up” (ABC News 2) “I deeply apologize for the way that was said and having said it. Obviously, I am not blacker than President Obama.

5. Mayor Russ Wiseman December 2009 NOW Wiseman lashed out at Obama for being a “Muslim President” he said “ask the man if he believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute dissertation about it when then answer should siply be yes. “[His comments] were totally taken out of context.”

6. Rusty De Pass (South Carolina GOP Activist) JUNE 2009 NOW When speaking about an escaped gorilla from the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia he wrote on his Facebook “I’m sure it is just one of Michelle’s ancestors—probably harmless. He later confirmed that he was speaking about first later Michelle Obama “Do you think I changed my mind?. I’ve said all I’ve got to say about it” (ABC news)

7. Mike Green (GOP Activist) June 2009 Now “I just heard Obama was going to impose a 40% tax on aspirin because it is white and it works.” “I sincerely apologize for the comments I made…I realized that my comment were hurtful, wrong and have no place in civil discourse.” (ABC news)

8. Sean Delonas (cartoonist for the New York Post) FEBRUARY 2009 The cartoon says “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill”. This cartoon was in the New York Post and caused quite a bit of uproar. Delonas stated that the association between the chimp and race never occurred to him