NPR commentator to talk at UF about racial perspective of Obama

January 15, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Diane Roberts, NPR’s “Weekend Edition” commentator/essayist, will give the 2009 Gus Burns Lecture on Feb. 4 at the University of Florida, hosted by the department of history and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.

This year’s talk, “The Blackness of Barack Obama,” will explore historical definitions of “blackness” in the context of American social constructs, including those advanced by “ill-informed people who claim Obama isn’t ‘really black’ or not ‘very’ black,” she said.

“It’s like the guy is suddenly George Harris if you remember your ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ and white folks feel so much better about him given his Anglo-Saxon blood,” Roberts said.

The lecture starts at 6:30 p.m. in Pugh Hall. The public is invited.

Roberts is an Oxford University-educated professor of English at Florida State University. She recently wrote “Dream State: Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors, Confederate Daughters, Banana Republicans, and other Florida Wildlife,” a book about her politically prominent (and “very odd”) family that has been called “perfect,” as well as “hilarious,” “wild,” “fun,” “strange,” and “splendid.” Her opinion guest columns appear in The New York Times, The New Republic, The St. Petersburg Times, and The Times of London. She divides her time between Tallahassee and London, where she makes documentaries for BBC Radio.

A reception with refreshments and food will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Keene Faculty Center, followed by the talk at 6:30 p.m. in Pugh Hall. Afterward, Roberts will sign copies of her books, which will be available for sale at the event. For additional information, contact Jack Davis at jackedavis@gmail.com or 352-273-3398.

Over the past 10 years, Burns lecturers have included John Hope Franklin, Stephen Ambrose, George McGovern and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Oshinsky.