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1 February 2026

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Conor Friedersdorf (The AtlanticMeeting Triumph and Disaster) and Reniqua Allen (New America Foundation, reniquaallen.com)

Reniqua lays out the argument she made in a recent op-ed lamenting the state of America’s conversation about race and urging President Obama to talk more about the subject. Pushing back against her thesis, Conor argues that President Obama is the wrong man to lead such a conversation. He also claims that for all his eloquent rhetoric, Obama’s substantive record on issues with a racial dynamic isn’t strong. Reniqua talks about her frequent frustration with being the only black person in a room full of white people. They next give different versions of the racial conversation they’d like to see more of in America and grapple with the tension between embracing multiculturalism and creating self-segregation.

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Recorded:Mar 26    Posted:Mar 28, 2012
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Friedersdorf | Mar 28, 2012 | Conor Friedersdorf & Reniqua Allen

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