O Presidente Negro ou O Choque das Raças (The Black President, or the Racial Shock) is a 1926 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 novel by the Brazilian

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 writer Monteiro Lobato

Monteiro Lobato

José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo but he had been previously a prolific writer of fiction, a translator and an art critic...

.

Plot

Most of the action of the book takes place in the United States in 2228. In this world, racial intermingling is prohibited so that blacks and whites remain genetically pure. During the 2228 presidential election, the white male incumbent president, Kerlog, runs against a white feminist named Evelyn Astor. The black leader James Roy Wilde (Jim Roy) postpones his support for either candidate until one hour before the election, when he declares that he is a candidate. He wins in the 30-minute electronic voting, becoming the United States' 88th and first black president. However, the American whites plot to sterilize all blacks. Roy is found dead in his office, and then Kerlog wins in a re-election.

Recent interest in the novel

After being out of print for forty years, O Presidente Negro was re-issued by the Brazilian publisher Editora Globo

Editora Globo

The Editora Globo is a respected Brazilian publishing house, property of Fundação Roberto Marinho. It began as a bookstore called Livraria do Globo, created in Porto Alegre, in December 1883, by Laudelino Pinheiro de Barcellos and Saturnino Alves Pinto.-History:The bookstore "Livraria do Globo"...

 in March 2008, when Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

's presidential campaign in the United States revived interest in the work. The book has been advertised with the disclaimer, "Any resemblance to actual events is pure coincidence."