Dayo Olopad and Eboni Farmer: Black President, Black Caucus, More Powerful Than Ever?
[Dayo Olopade is Washington reporter for The Root. Eboni Farmer is an intern for The Root and online editor for The Hilltop.]
The Congressional Black Caucus is 40 years old this year, and with one of its former members in the White House, members are feeling more powerful than ever. As the CBC gathers in Washington for its annual legislative conference weekend—the first since Barack Obama was elected president—some members say the CBC, with a record 43 members, may be more influential now than at anytime in its history.
“We have more chairmen, more subcommittee chairmen, more seniority and the president—so one has to say we have more influence on national policy,” says Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
For most of its history, the CBC represented the embodiment of mainstream black political power. These were the one or two or three dozen black men and women who were able to succeed in mainstream American politics in the most traditional way; they were elected to Congress. Initially, they were activists, children of the civil rights movement. Later they were savvy politicians who mastered the rules of the game. Later they were Barack Obama...
... “This is a new era for our communities, our congressional districts and for the country,” said Rep. Charles Rangel. He compared their early March meeting with Obama to the CBC's long wait for President Richard Nixon to recognize them. He was in the White House when the CBC was formed. “We’re very excited about the opportunity.”
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The Congressional Black Caucus is 40 years old this year, and with one of its former members in the White House, members are feeling more powerful than ever. As the CBC gathers in Washington for its annual legislative conference weekend—the first since Barack Obama was elected president—some members say the CBC, with a record 43 members, may be more influential now than at anytime in its history.
“We have more chairmen, more subcommittee chairmen, more seniority and the president—so one has to say we have more influence on national policy,” says Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
For most of its history, the CBC represented the embodiment of mainstream black political power. These were the one or two or three dozen black men and women who were able to succeed in mainstream American politics in the most traditional way; they were elected to Congress. Initially, they were activists, children of the civil rights movement. Later they were savvy politicians who mastered the rules of the game. Later they were Barack Obama...
... “This is a new era for our communities, our congressional districts and for the country,” said Rep. Charles Rangel. He compared their early March meeting with Obama to the CBC's long wait for President Richard Nixon to recognize them. He was in the White House when the CBC was formed. “We’re very excited about the opportunity.”