What kind of impact has President Obama had on politics since his historic election in 2008?



One surprise: He may have affected Republicans most, paving the way for more African-Americans like Dr. Ben Carson and other minority candidates to run for office under the GOP banner, according to political scientist Dr. Columba Ahamefule Nnorom.



Dr. Nnorom also believes that President Obama initially embodied hopes that he could be America’s first “postracial candidate” and bridge the traditional racial divides in the United States. But those hopes, he says, were undermined by the Great Recession, the Republican backlash and the rise of new groups like “Black Lives Matter.”



Dr. Nnorom will offer his views on the “Obama Effect” at a public lecture from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, at Virginia Union University’s L. Douglas Wilder Library & Learning Resource Center, 1500 N. Lombardy St

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Part of the library’s fall lecture series, the program will be open to the community without charge.



“My talk examines the social and political impact of the Obama presidency on African-Americans and Africa — the good, the bad and the ugly, its connection with the Civil Rights Movement and its generally positive influence on race relations and African-American identity,” Dr. Nnorom said.



“Overall, my view is that President Obama should be seen as a reformer not a revolutionary, though a leader whose symbolic importance will stand the test of time,” he said.


Dr. Nnorom, an adjunct professor at VUU, has had a long career as an educator and writer on political topics. He is co-author of “Long March Ahead: African-American Churches and Public Policy in Post-Civil Rights America.” 



Further details: (804) 257-5822 or Dr. Nnorom at (804) 822-7484 or email can20010a@comcast.net. — JEREMY M. LAZARUS