Invitations to the Dance

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.

Incorporation is Not Enough: The Agenda Influence of Black Lawmakers in Congressional Committees

Traditionally, scholars argue that the committee structure is central to the policymaking process in congress, and that those that wield the gavel in committees enjoy a great deal of influence over the legislative agenda. The most recent iterations of Congress are more diverse than ever before. With 55 members—of whom, five chair full committees and 28 sit atop subcommittees—the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is in a place to wield a significant leverage over the legislative agenda in the 116th Congress. However, noticeable proportional gains in minority membership in Congress have yet to produce sizable policy gains for the communities they represent. An examination of bill sponsorship from the 103rd–112th congresses reveals underlying institutional forces—i.e., marginalization and negative agenda setting—leave Black lawmakers at a distinct disadvantage compared to their non-black counterparts. Bills in policy areas targeted by the CBC are subject to disproportionate winnowing in congressional committees. Unfortunately, a number of institutional resources often found to increase a bill's prospects—including placements and leadership on committees with jurisdiction over policy areas of interest—are relatively ineffective for CBC members looking to forward those key issues onto the legislative agenda.

Killing America’s Children

This chapter examines Turkey’s role in the US heroin epidemic of the late 1960s and early 1970s and explains how this issue complicated American attitudes and policies toward Ankara. It focuses on the nature of the epidemic and the misunderstanding, generated in part by popular films, regarding Turkey’s responsibility. It elaborates on the drug policy of the Nixon administration, as well as Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit’s decision to renew poppy cultivation and the bitter American response, including measures to punish Turkey. It examines the involvement of key political figures, such as Representative Lester Wolff, Senator Walter Mondale, and Charles Rangel, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, in the movement toward embargo.

Development of a Black Caucus within the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN): Representing the Perspectives of Black Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)

Black men who have sex with men (MSM) have disproportionate HIV disease burden in the United States. Black MSM have been underrepresented in biomedical research, including HIV clinical trials, due to a myriad of socio-structural, socio-cultural, and psychosocial factors. The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 061, a feasibility study of a multi-component HIV prevention intervention for Black MSM in six US cities, incorporated the development and implementation of a Black Caucus as a culturally grounded model for the integration of Black MSM in clinical trials and research in HPTN. Based on a qualitative methodological approach, we describe the formation and implementation of the Black Caucus from the perspective of Black MSM key community stakeholders. Three major themes emerged from the qualitative narratives: (1) the role of the Black Caucus in shaping the HPTN, (2) how the Black Caucus addresses the needs of Black MSM communities pertaining to the influence of race and sexual identity, and (3) socio-cultural needs of Black MSM. These findings have implications for the provision of culturally congruent expertise, community engagement, cultural mistrust, recruitment and retention of Black MSM in HIV clinical trials, culturally-relevant study design and implementation, and the role of developing Black MSM prevention researchers.