Derrick E. White
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813037356
- eISBN:
- 9780813041605
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813037356.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter turns to the IBW's political analyses and its work as a think tank to develop a Black political agenda for the 1972 election. The IBW's analysis and agenda emphasized structural racism, ...
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This chapter turns to the IBW's political analyses and its work as a think tank to develop a Black political agenda for the 1972 election. The IBW's analysis and agenda emphasized structural racism, and its agenda was a product of its Black Agenda Network, which consisted of activist intellectuals. The IBW submitted its agenda to the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. It also assisted Maynard Jackson in developing policy themes when he ran for mayor of Atlanta. The IBW's policy analyses demonstrated the momentary unity among various segments of the Black activist community, but its difficulties revealed emerging tensions.Less
This chapter turns to the IBW's political analyses and its work as a think tank to develop a Black political agenda for the 1972 election. The IBW's analysis and agenda emphasized structural racism, and its agenda was a product of its Black Agenda Network, which consisted of activist intellectuals. The IBW submitted its agenda to the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana. It also assisted Maynard Jackson in developing policy themes when he ran for mayor of Atlanta. The IBW's policy analyses demonstrated the momentary unity among various segments of the Black activist community, but its difficulties revealed emerging tensions.
Tyson D. King-Meadows
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- September 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781479807277
- eISBN:
- 9781479896578
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479807277.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
In this chapter, I argue that the impact of the Obama presidency is best gauged not by examining shortfalls in Obama’s overt advocacy for race conscious policies but, rather, by examining what Obama ...
More
In this chapter, I argue that the impact of the Obama presidency is best gauged not by examining shortfalls in Obama’s overt advocacy for race conscious policies but, rather, by examining what Obama did to assert that Black representatives should be more concerned about the enactment of legislation that advances Black progress than about credit claiming via overt advocacy. To illustrate, I examine select public speeches by Obama, White House documents, and press accounts to outline the Obama administration’s engagement with the Congressional Black Caucus and other elites over Black unemployment. Subsequent political clashes showcased Black dismay that a Black executive had not delivered tangible race-specific benefits, White fear that a Black president would practice racial favoritism, and an intergovernmental struggle between the executive and legislative branches over who should control employment policy. These clashes best illustrate how the “inclusionary dilemma” required Obama to utilize a complex engagement strategy with Black Americans to navigate Black dismay about job creation and to outline his socio-cultural-economic policy agenda. In the conclusion, I discuss how Obama used his final days in office to prepare the Obama coalition for the Trump presidency and to warn Black voters and Black elites about privileging style over substance.Less
In this chapter, I argue that the impact of the Obama presidency is best gauged not by examining shortfalls in Obama’s overt advocacy for race conscious policies but, rather, by examining what Obama did to assert that Black representatives should be more concerned about the enactment of legislation that advances Black progress than about credit claiming via overt advocacy. To illustrate, I examine select public speeches by Obama, White House documents, and press accounts to outline the Obama administration’s engagement with the Congressional Black Caucus and other elites over Black unemployment. Subsequent political clashes showcased Black dismay that a Black executive had not delivered tangible race-specific benefits, White fear that a Black president would practice racial favoritism, and an intergovernmental struggle between the executive and legislative branches over who should control employment policy. These clashes best illustrate how the “inclusionary dilemma” required Obama to utilize a complex engagement strategy with Black Americans to navigate Black dismay about job creation and to outline his socio-cultural-economic policy agenda. In the conclusion, I discuss how Obama used his final days in office to prepare the Obama coalition for the Trump presidency and to warn Black voters and Black elites about privileging style over substance.
