1. African Americans in Politics NICHOLAS BARNES DR. E GRAVES AFST 3454

2. American Political Sphere  a game  Constituents  People trying to hold office as long as possible  Either moderate or conservative

3. What Used to Be  Black politicians took a stance for blacks’ rights  There was no etiquette or expectation that said they can’t speak up  Protests and demonstrations were encouraged by black political leaders if not lead by them  Every black person was expected to play a role in gaining equality

4. A Phillip Randolph  Sleeping porters  March on Washington  Convinced FDR to issue executive order 8802

5. Malcom X  The Ballot or the Bullet  “This government has failed the Negro”  During the Selma campaign, Malcom x made direct threats to the kkk for lynching people before they can vote and got johson’s support

6. How it is Today  The ‘race card’  The ‘new black’  Indirect or absence of help by black politicians in black communities

7. Adrian Fenty  Moderate, independent political stance  Educational platform as D.C. councilman  Wanted to focus on constituent services and take attention grabbing possitions

8. Deval Patrick  First African American governor of Massachusetts  After graduating Harvard, practiced law with the NAACP  Once governor, did not address issues directly related to race inequality  Focused on gun control, marriage rights, and casino gambling

9. Barack Obama  Turned out not to be the ‘race man’ that man people expected him to be

10. The 1%  Successful, affluent African Americans tell all others that they should be able to do the same thing  These are often the people in office and they neglect environmental racism

11. What is radical?  In today’s America, there simply cannot be a radical African American stance  Resist, Reform, or Accommodate but do not Revolt