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1. Introduction Barack Obama's election as President in November 2008 represents a historic moment for both the United States and the world. (1) While the question of race in the [...], El discurso de Barack Obama 'A More Perfect Union', pronunciado en medio del clamor popular producido a raíz de las declaraciones de su Pastor, el Reverendo Jeremy Wright, hizo que diversas cuestiones relacionadas con las etnias y el racismo cobraran gran relevancia durante la campaña de 2008. Aunque el discurso se puede tomar como una sincera visión del asunto de las etnias en los Estados Unidos por parte de Obama, también se puede interpretar como un elaborado plan para de-construir los problemas de las etnias, el racismo y la identidad en ese país. En este artículo se analizan, desde la perspectiva del Análisis Crítico del Discurso, los mencionados asuntos tal como se ven reflejados en el aludido discurso de Obama, asumiendo que cualquier acto del discurso forma parte de la sociedad y la cultura dentro de las cuales se manifiesta. El artículo se centra en aspectos contextuales y lingüísticos, y resalta los medios utilizados por Obama para deslegitimizar y, por tanto, de-construir los hábitos racistas que perduran en la sociedad estadounidense de nuestros días. El análisis presta especial atención al uso de la recontextualización y aboga por una interpretación más amplia de la que se suele encontrar en la literatura. Palabras clave: etnia (raza), Obama, recontextualización, Análisis Crítico del Discurso, discurso político, usos de los pronombres De-constructing race and identity in US presidential discourse: Barack Obama's speech on race Barack Obama's 'A More Perfect Union' speech, given amidst public outcry over statements made by his pastor, Reverend Jeremy Wright, brought the questions of race and racism to the forefront of his 2008 campaign. While the speech can be seen as Obama's candid vision of race in America, it can also be interpreted as an elaborate scheme to de-construct the issues of race, racism, and identity in the United States. The paper analyzes the issues of race, racism and identity as reflected in this speech from a CDA perspective, on the assumption that all speech acts are embedded in the society and culture within which they are produced. It focuses on both contextual and linguistic aspects, highlighting the ways Obama delegitimizes and, hence, de-constructs, racist practices still prevalent in American society. The analysis focuses mainly on the use of recontextualization, and argues for a broader interpretation than the one traditionally proposed in the literature. Keywords: race; Obama; recontextualization; CDA; political discourse; pronominal use

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