It Was No Compliment to Call Bill Clinton 'The First Black President'
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Aug 27, 2015
2 minutes
Editor’s Note: This article previously appeared in a different format as part of The Atlantic’s Notes section, retired in 2021.
In 1998, Toni Morrison wrote a comment for arguing that “white skin notwithstanding, this is our first black President. Blacker than any actual black person who could ever be elected in our children’s lifetime.” Last week the New York Times,.” This interpretation of Morrison’s claim is as common as it is erroneous.
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