ABSTRACT
Prominent white Americans, in both the private and the government sectors, have periodically revealed negative feelings and views about African Americans and other Americans of color in their public statements. In the late 1980s television sports personality jimmy "the Greek" Snyder's public statement that African American success in sports was genetic led to his dismissal by a major network. The most detailed accounts of racist attitudes in corporate suites can be found in discussions of lawsuits, such as the Texaco case, or in some literary fiction. The case of corporate executives at Texaco became important only because of a surreptitiously recorded high-level corporate meeting that was made public. The following cases focus on two powerful political actors—presidential candidates who used racially defined symbols in calculated ways to win public office. The first case examines the "Willie" Horton advertising campaign of George Bush in 1988. The second looks at Bill Clinton's attack on rap musician Sister Souljah in 1992.
