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Policy, Politics & Culture Vol. VIII, No. 1 | September/October 2012

Race & Class in America: THE LAST COMPROMISE WALTER RUSSELL MEAD

The Poverty Industry

Schools: Segregation Forever?

Our Post-Post-Racial Society

www.the-american-interest.com

Cover.indd 1 7/25/12 12:35 PM CONTENTS 4(%!-%2)#!.).4%2%34s6/,5-%6))) .5-"%2 !545-.3%04%-"%2/#4/"%2 

RACE AND CLASS IN AMERICA

5 The Last Compromise by Walter Russell Mead The history of race in America has been one of a series of “great com- promises”, from the Founding up to the election of . There are signs that the latest compromise is breaking down.

16 Black and White No Longer by Richard Thompson Ford 44 American society is neither post-racial nor stuck fast in a racist past, but fantasies of monolithic racial communities are distorting our national conversation on race and public policy.

26 Transcending the Poverty Industry by Robert L. Woodson, Sr. Federal anti-poverty efforts have relied too heavily on solutions cooked up in academia and inside the Beltway. We already have plenty of proven programs—at the local level.

35 Whatever Became of the Raucous Caucus? by Paul Frymer The Congressional Black Caucus is no longer the flamboyant organization it was at its birth in the late 1960s, but it’s still worth 52 listening to. 44 Still Separate and Unequal Rhena Catherine Jasey America’s poorest students need extra educational resources just to keep pace with their more priveleged peers. Instead, they get less— and teachers, principals and unions get blamed for the outcome.

AMERICAN POLITICS, 2012

52 The Open Fields of November by Michael Barone 84 American politics today is far more volatile than in the past. That makes predicting what will happen in November a temptation for fools. Expect a massive failure to resist temptation.

59 What Newt Means by Adam Clancy The Newt Gingrich campaign amused the pols and pundits, but what it says about future primary contests isn’t the least bit funny.

AUTUMN (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER) 2012 3 WAVELENGTHS

64 Hacking the Next War by Chris C. Demchak Cyber security is an ultra-modern challenge, but we could learn a lot about it by examining how pre-modern Euorpean city-states EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE , chairman managed their defenses. Charles Davidson, publisher & CEO Walter Russell Mead, editor-at-large 74 Turn Your Radio On & director, Online by Jeffrey Gedmin Eliot Cohen The former director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty assesses what’s right and what’s wrong with U.S. broadcasting policy. Adam Garfinkle, editor Daniel Kennelly, senior managing editor Noelle Daly, associate editor Lindsey Burrows, assistant editor REVIEWS Damir Marusic, associate publisher Andrew Iacobucci, assistant to the publisher 84 Down to The Wire Erica Brown, Michelle High, editorial consultants by Francis Fukuyama Simon Monroe, R. Jay Magill, Jr., illustrators The HBO television series The Wire, which aired between 2002 cover design by Lindsey Burrows & and 2008, brought Americans face-to-face with the stubborn and Damir Marusic disturbing reality of inner-city life.

EDITORIAL BOARD 90 Zoned Out Anne Applebaum, Peter Berger, by J.P. O’Malley , Tyler Cowen, Two new books show us that is alive and all too well—not Niall Ferguson, Robert H. Frank, William A. Galston, Owen Harries, just in America but in segregated cities around the world. G. John Ikenberry, Stephen D. Krasner, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Sebastian 96 Finding the Founding Mallaby, C. Raja Mohan, Ana Palacio, by Michal Jan Rozbicki Itamar Rabinovich, Ali Salem, Scholars are fond of criticizing ideologues who ransack history for Lilia Shevtsova, Hiro Aida, Mario Vargas Llosa, Wang Jisi, useful material to promote contemporary agendas. It turns out that Ruth Wedgwood many scholars do more or less the same thing.

103 The Great Stone Face ADVERTISING & SYNDICATION by Colin Fleming Damir Marusic [email protected] The recent release of a series of 1930s-era two-reelers reminds (202) 223-4408 us how great Buster Keaton was even when he wasn’t at his best. The Great Stone Face was no slapstick peddler, but a true harbin- website ger of film comedy as an art form. www.the-american-interest.com 108 Retroview: Hope in the Searching Subscriptions: Call (800) 362-8433 or visit www. the-american-interest.com. One year (6 issues): $39 print; by Joseph R. Wood $19 online; $49 for both. Two years (12 issues): $69 print; $38 online; $98 for both. Please add $14 per year for Walker Percy distrusted the esoteric and the arcane, looking print-subscription delivery to Canada and $33 per year for instead to the concrete and the quotidian as a bridge to faith and delivery to addresses outside the United States and Canada. Postmaster and subscribers, send subscription orders and meaning. A man of both the American South and the Catholic changes of address to: The American Interest, P.O. Box Church, his novels and essays never evince a claim to know any 15115, North Hollywood, CA 91615. The American Interest (ISSN 1556-5777) is published six times a year by The mortal’s destination—only the value of the journey. American Interest LLC. Printed by Fry Communications, Inc. Postage paid in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. ©2010, The American Interest LLC. Application for mailing at periodical pricing is pending in Washington, DC and ad- ditional mailing offices. Editorial offices: 1730 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Suite 707, Washington, DC 20036. Tel.: (202) 223-4408. Fax: (202) 223-4489. RACE AND CLASS IN AMERICA

The Congressional Black Caucus still has an important role to play—albeit a circumstances.

WHATEVER BECAME OF THE RAUCOUS CAUCUS? Paul Frymer

othing ties the tongue three decades ago. Were racial catego- of a characteristically ries irrelevant to social, economic and windbag politician so political fairness in America, this rela- swiftly as the topic of tive silence would be merely unremark- race. When race does able. But that is not the case. The quiet comeN up, their voices drop, their stress is disquieting because it has profound im- levels rise and their language becomes plications in a society where many white vague, tending to protective code words and black Americans have starkly differ- and euphemisms. These habits tell us ent experiences when it comes to access that meaningful discussions about race, to quality education, healthcare and eco- not to speak of potential policies or rem- nomic opportunities, and in rates of incar- edies that might address a raft of continu- ceration and social segregation. Frankly ac- ing inequalities and problems, are simply not knowledging these differences would help, if on offer today to the extent they were two or not to finally solve the problems, then at least to clarify what they are. Paul Frymer is associate professor of politics at When Barack Obama ran for President Princeton University and author of Uneasy Alli- four years ago, it seemed that the United States ances: Race and Party Competition in America might be on the verge of a new and usefully (2010). substantive conversation about race. Hints of

AUTUMN (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER) 2012 35 RACE AND CLASS IN AMERICA such a conversation appeared in the media, but credit, to quality public school education, also in the campaign. Obama’s famous Phila- social mobility, access to quality healthcare, delphia speech highlighted the promise of his for example—are becoming further en- campaign in this regard, leading David Rem- trenched. We have in important ways taken nick to write in The New Yorker that Obama a step backward on the issue of race during had stepped forth as the leader of the “Joshua the past four years. generation”, a generation anointed to take the Understandably, Obama has been re- next step forward in civil rights, going past luctant to involve himself directly in mat- mere legal and procedural equality to fulfill the ters of race for political reasons. For decades American dream. now, the conventional wisdom has been that Four years later, that promise lies unful- white moderates and conservatives are criti- filled. The issue of race bubbles more vigor- cal swing voters in presidential elections, so ously today than it did four years ago, even that it is self-defeating foolishness to engage if it usually stays just below the surface, in inevitably emotional conversations about but not all the energies are positive. While race. Obama has by and large followed this Obama’s voice on the subject has become playbook: He has not highlighted continu- quieter, some criticisms of his presidency ing racial inequality and discrimination, let (and now of his bid for re-election) have sug- alone raised the idea of reparations for histor- ical injustices. He has not addressed Obama has by and large followed this racial disparities playbook: He has not highlighted con- in capital punish- ment, even when tinuing racial inequality and discrimi- the nation briefly nation, let alone raised the idea of focused on the controversial ex- reparations for historical injustices. ecution of Troy Davis in Georgia. gested racism. Racially insensitive jokes and He has avoided the controversy over affirma- statements by leaders and participants in the tive action in university admissions, an issue Tea Party—from protestor Dale Robertson, the Supreme Court will probably rule on in who held a sign with the n-word at a rally in the next few months. And while he has been 2009, to the resignations and disaffiliations savvy in making quick strikes on not unrelat- of leaders such as Mark Williams and Inge ed civil rights issues such as gay marriage and Marler for racially insensitive comments, to immigration, it is also unlikely that Obama the numerous controversies involving mem- himself is not the answer, his actions reflect- bers at rallies making comments and hold- ing less a failure of nerve or character than ing racially charged placards attacking the the necessities of his institutional position. President and black members of Congress— Not everyone has gone quiet, of course. have marred its legitimacy as an opposition Outside of politics individuals and groups movement, but they have not necessarily have been doing their part—television shows made it less popular. Rush Limbaugh, Glenn like The Wire, musicians like Jay Z and Lupe Beck and are just a few of the many public figures who have baited, at 1In the summer of 2010, the Pew Foundation re- least obliquely, a sitting U.S. President on ported that only a third of Americans believed the basis of his race, notably with the chal- the President is a Christian, while a third of lenges to his birthplace (supposedly Kenya) Republican identifiers believed he is a Mus- and religion (supposedly Muslim).1 And all lim. A CNN poll taken around the same time of this racialized opposition to the President found that 41 percent of Republican respon- is occurring at a time when many racial in- dents believed that Obama was born outside equalities in American society—access to the United States.

36 THE AMERICAN INTEREST WHATEVER BECAME OF THE RAUCOUS CAUCUS?

Fiasco, writers like Junot Díaz and Toni Mor- representatives of an expanding black voting rison, and media personalities like Melissa bloc. They were also responding directly to Harris Perry. But we can’t ignore politics. As the politics of the day, and desired to form distasteful as our modern political system has a “shadow cabinet” to express their opposi- become, the American ideology of democracy tion to President ’s policies on is not just aspirational but formally meaning- civil rights and the economy. In these early ful. There are politicians with the facilities years, the Caucus tended to issue bold proc- and authority to keep certain issues in the lamations on behalf of black Americans, such public sphere, to ask tough questions and re- as a Black Bill of Rights in 1972, and they quire responses. Those politicians include a frequently proposed alternative national bud- group frequently overlooked in recent years, gets to those offered by the major political and sometimes even maligned by other politi- parties. They continued this insurgent be- cians, the media and an ideologically diverse havior during the Carter Administration, set of intellectuals: the 42 members of the opposing budget cuts and increased military Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). spending, and promoting the expansion of The CBC remains important in Ameri- jobs programs, education funding and great- can politics in part because many of its er attention to crime and violence in impov- members represent majority-black constitu- erished neighborhoods. encies that can resist the electoral calculus Their first major success, well recounted that leads presidents to avoid discussing race. in Alvin Tillery’s book Between Homeland In addition, a closer look at the Caucus and and Motherland (2011), was to lead the leg- its individual members shows that they are islative effort to invoke economic sanctions already having fruitful conversations about against South Africa to protest Apartheid the meaning of race in America, though they in the late 1980s. Caucus leaders Charles don’t often fall into the national spotlight. Diggs and Ron Dellums were instrumental Indeed, with the exception of The Root and in putting the topic on the agenda, push- Congressional Quarterly Weekly, it is diffi- ing the House Foreign Relations Committee cult to find any liberal or conservative me- to devote more attention to democracy and dia outlet that gives sustained attention to economic development in Africa. Dellums what the CBC does, beyond hyping the oc- first proposed sanctions against South Africa casional scandal or spectacle. But the Cau- in 1972, and in 1975 Congressman Andrew cus is engaging with its constituents, with Young promoted the furtherance of the civil other members of Congress and with a range rights struggle to South Africa in a speech to of groups around the nation to promote a the State Department. The Caucus’s efforts discussion of topics that have been ignored eventually culminated with the Comprehen- by the President, the national parties and the sive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (overcoming national media. (Note that in tandem with a veto by President Reagan), which called for the 21 members of the Congressional His- both a trade embargo and corporate divest- panic Congress, the CBC equals the size of ment from South Africa. the Tea Party Caucus.) A first step to im- The CBC achieved even greater public proving our national conversation on race, prominence, although arguably with fewer tan- then, is to know where to look for it—and gible legislative victories, as a result of a com- to listen in. bination of events in the early 1990s. First, Bill Clinton became the first Democrat to enter the n 1969, 13 black members of the House White House in a dozen years, and there were Iof Representatives created the Congressio- Democratic majorities in both houses of Con- nal Black Caucus. The initial motivation was gress. Second, the Caucus was primed for ex- twofold. In the aftermath of the assassination panded influence that year, with 17 new mem- of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, bers elected to the House of Representatives. the CBC sought to fill a leadership void in These new members were the result of political the civil rights movement with newly elected developments a decade old. The extension of

AUTUMN (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER) 2012 37 RACE AND CLASS IN AMERICA illustration by Iker Ayestaran Iker by illustration

the Voting Rights Act in 1982—an Act that, as Caucus represented populations that were on Abigail Thernstrom well recounts in her book, average 53 percent African American; the oth- Whose Votes Count? (1989), was controversial er members of the House represented districts in substance but gained nearly unanimous sup- that were on average only 7 percent black. port in Congress—laid the groundwork for the The next two years were a time of real CBC creation of congressional districts designed to influence in both the House and in national increase black and Latino representation. Most legislative politics. Caucus Chairman Kweisi of the new Caucus members came from these Mfume wielded the CBC’s increased clout “majority-minority” districts drawn after the to command consistent attention from Presi- 1990 census. That year, the members of the dent Clinton. Mfume’s influence was widely

38 THE AMERICAN INTEREST WHATEVER BECAME OF THE RAUCOUS CAUCUS? credited for Clinton’s decision to intervene in cized the continuing use of majority-minor- Haiti and for several spending additions to ity districts under the Voting Rights Act be- Clinton’s first two budgets. Perhaps most no- cause, they argue, Caucus members are left table was Mfume’s activism during the passage with such overly bloated majorities that they of the 1994 Crime Bill, as Caucus members have little reason to mobilize their constitu- blocked the initial efforts of Democratic leaders ents. This criticism comes from the Left via in the House to pass a bill. The CBC leadership the likes of Harvard professors Lani Guinier criticized the proposed legislation for ignoring and Claudine Gay. Criticism has come from racial justice issues in death penalty decisions the Right via Sandra Day O’Connor, Carol and not allocating enough money to social pro- Swain and Abigail Thernstrom, all whom grams to address the root causes of crime. criticize the Voting Rights Act for cementing Ultimately, however, Mfume and the Cau- and legitimating racial categories in politics cus ended up losing doubly on the crime bill. in a way that denies the ability of individual First, President Clinton, instead of giving into citizens to be adequately represented by indi- the Caucus’s demands, triangulated the other vidual representatives. way, attracting moderate Republican support to In more recent years, the Caucus has replace lost Caucus votes. Second, the Demo- also been attacked for being out of touch, crats lost their majority in the House that No- sometimes with the American people, but vember, the first time the Democrats had relin- even more often with its own constituents. quished majority control since the Eisenhower The Caucus is frequently accused of being presidency. At least some of the blame fell on the ineffective, both as a policymaking vehicle CBC’s Crime Bill gambit and to its high profile and as a provider of resources to its mem- during Clinton’s first two years. A notable num- bers’ communities. Several Caucus members ber of defeated conservative Democrats lost, have been charged with ethics violations, analysts concluded, because their willingness from Mike Espy, who resigned from Con- to cooperate with CBC Democrats led them to gress (and was later exonerated by a Federal vote for more gun control and social spending jury), to Charles Rangel, who had to be re- than the voters back home wanted. moved from his chairmanship of the Ways The CBC’s two years in the sun were and Means Committee. Caucus members soon eclipsed by the 104th Congress, one of have also been attacked for the amount of the most active and energized legislative bod- money they have received from corporations, ies of any American political era. Mobilized from tobacco to gun manufacturers to phar- behind its new speaker, Newt Gingrich, the maceutical companies, presumably to shut Republican majority got rid of the CBC, of- them up or to get them to contravene the ficially at least, by voting to end funding and interests of their constituents. A study by official recognition for all caucuses and leg- Dorian Warren, “Wal-Mart Surrounded”, in islative service organizations in the House. the New Labor Forum (2005), charged that Moreover, with Republicans taking control of political donations from Wal-Mart influence the House, Caucus members found opportu- Caucus members to side against their con- nities for legislative activism to be few and far stituents in community labor battles. More between. Mfume left two years later to head recently, ran a story ac- the NAACP, and a number of its elder states- cusing the Caucus of being influenced by men retired, relinquishing potentially power- the donations of more than $55 million from ful senior positions in House and Democratic corporations and unions, and of promoting Party committees. the interests of internet poker companies, rent-to-own stores, cell phone carriers and he Caucus has remained in existence, medical manufacturers. The instigation of T but in the years between Gingrich and the Times piece was the news that the Caucus Obama it has taken a lot of lumps from poli- spent more money “on the caterer for its sig- ticians and academics alike. Most notably, nature legislative dinner and conference— many legal and political scholars have criti- nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer

AUTUMN (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER) 2012 39 RACE AND CLASS IN AMERICA called ‘Hollywood on the Potomac’—than it Democratic Party, sending its members into gave out in scholarships.”2 important committee assignments and other These critiques of the Caucus have merit, leadership positions. When the Democrats although unfortunately, just about any sec- last lost majority status in the House of Rep- tor of Congress and government today could resentatives in 2010, John Conyers was the be fairly criticized for being bloated, unre- chair of the Judiciary Committee. Charles sponsive and even unethical. Like the rest of Rangel chaired the powerful Ways and Means our political, economic and media elite, we Committee; James Clyburn remains the third can locate precious few heroes in the throngs ranking member of the Democratic Party in of opportunists who leverage their positions the House. This power within the Party often while claiming to serve others. Alas, this new goes unnoticed. Few have remarked on their century’s version of a “Mr. Smith who goes to success, for instance, in getting more than $4 Washington”—Jeff Smith from Missouri, the billion for job and mortgage relief programs inspirational upstart politician portrayed in the in exchange for their support of a regulatory documentary, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washing- law at the end of 2009. ton Anymore? (2006)—ended up being a Mr. This new positioning within the Democrat- Smith who went to jail. Jimmy Stewart never ic Party is both good and bad for the Caucus. did that, not even in the movies. It leads members to be more closely aligned But the Caucus is also doing good things with the Party, even in moments when doing the public doesn’t see. In his book Oversight so is less directly helpful to their constituents. (2011), political scientist Michael Minta found Like other major interests in both parties, from that members of both the Black and Hispanic unionized labor to the Christian Right, there Caucuses were consistently more active than are continually choices to be made between other congressional members in intervening independence and proceeding as a minor- in decision-making by Federal agencies and ity partner in a majority coalition. Certainly, by testifying in support of minority interests independence is tougher, calling for constant at congressional oversight hearings. Caucus organizing and ingenuity. Joining a dominant members write more letters urging agency of- party, with ample weapons at its disposal and ficials to enforce civil rights policies, and spend formalized rules of accountability to constitu- significantly more time and effort advocating ents, is in many ways much easier. But in the for solutions to problems that affect all racial current era of party polarization, this route and ethnic groups, such as poverty, inadequate limits opportunities to maneuver and nego- healthcare, fair housing and community devel- tiate because there are fewer swing groups to opment. Minta also found that the presence engage, and greater costs to defecting from the of Caucus members in congressional hearings party line. increases the chances that minority perspec- tives and concerns are addressed. He describes, for instance, the longstanding yet largely un- The CBC in the Obama Era reported role that members have continued to play in making sure the ongoing rebuilding ith the election of Barack Obama, efforts in the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of W the Caucus seemed poised to enter Hurricane Katrina are adequately targeted to- the apex of power. As Jesse Jackson, Jr. said ward the needs of minority constituents. at the time, “We have more chairmen, more And as the political scientist Katherine subcommittee chairmen, more seniority and Tate has argued in Black Faces in the Mirror the president—so one has to say we have more (2004), the Caucus has also become stealthier influence on national policy.” But the Cau- in its political maneuvering in recent years. cus quickly found that it had far less room Unlike the young and raucous CBC of the 1970s that received attention for big public 2Eric Lipton and Eric Lichtblau, “In Black Cau- proclamations, the more mature Caucus has cus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse”, New York attempted to better integrate itself into the Times, February 13, 2010.

40 THE AMERICAN INTEREST WHATEVER BECAME OF THE RAUCOUS CAUCUS? to maneuver politically than it may have seemed. CBC members were ex- pected by both party leaders and by the bulk of their constituents to support the President and support his policy agenda, even when it went against their own policy goals, against aggressive Republi- can adversaries in Congress. And they did indeed spend much of the first two years standing behind Obama, defending the President against what they perceived to be unfair attacks, disrespect and veiled racism. The Caucus now seems to be reconsidering this strategy. Last year, its members balked at Obama’s speech to its membership when he challenged them to “stop complain- ing, stop grumbling, stop crying” and instead to get to work. Frus- trated by their failure to get bills through the House, CBC mem- bers have redoubled efforts to promote their agenda, but this agenda does not always coincide with the President’s. After pro- posing over forty job bills in the Republican House with no success, they went on the road conducting job fairs in cities around the Kweisi Mfume country. This drew ire from the Ad- ministration, which perceived CBC be- center of American politics today, and it’s not havior as a criticism of its stimulus program. at the center of national debates (to the degree The CBC has also pushed new laws to com- they exist) about race in America. But the bat voting rights violations and has promoted Caucus is talking, it is raising issues of critical the repeal of “Stand Your Ground” laws in re- importance to its constituents and to minor- sponse to Trayvon Martin’s death in Florida— ity constituents more broadly, and it is acting. complete with CBC member Bobby Rush, the Whether or not one approves of its message, former Black Panther “defense minister”, wear- it is promoting perspectives that have the for- ing a hoodie on the House floor.3 The most mal backing of electoral majorities in its mem- recent chairs of the Caucus, Barbara Lee and bers’ districts. Much of what they are doing is Emanuel Cleaver, have both called for a new national dialogue on race and the economy, 3Obama challenged Rush in the 2000 Democratic one that Cleaver suggested would chart an in- congressional primary in Illinois’s 1st congres- dependent course from that of the President. sional district, and during the campaign Rush One may well scoff at the likely impact of said some rather tart, personal things about this activity. The Caucus is not at or near the Obama.

AUTUMN (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER) 2012 41 RACE AND CLASS IN AMERICA occurring away from the House floor. Rangel, movement have landed at the center of nation- Cleaver, Lee, John Lewis and others spend a al debates in the past few years because they lot of their time speaking to high school kids, have organizations with bodies and resources underprivileged youth, senior citizens, busi- that enable them to spring into action given the ness leaders and just about anyone who will opportunity. The Caucus cannot rely on Presi- listen. Unlike too many members of Congress dent Obama to give it either the opportunity or who spend inordinate amounts of time raising the apparatus to respond, and so needs to con- money for the next election, they are known tinue to build with other like-minded organi- for the time they spend in their communities, zations to position itself for mobilized activity. talking and engaging. The problem for the Caucus is to figure alking about race in America is exceed- out how to attract a broader audience, start- Tingly hard. In part, this is because of the ing with the national media. They don’t have complexity of the category. Even the most the cachet of the Tea Party or Occupy Wall famous inquisitors of our national identity, Street. They have long since stopped tossing from Tocqueville to Du Bois to Morrison to political bombs. They have become, for bet- Obama, have been befuddled by its sustained ter and for worse, more conventional poli- power and historical incongruities. We also ticians. So how now do they improve their lack a common language, and in many ways position to participate in a more sustained a common historical memory, to understand national dialogue? its changing contours and boundaries. Many First, the Caucus needs to recognize—as Americans do not believe that they are a part I believe it does—the structural reasons that of any race, and many others falsely associ- it is so often ignored. It isn’t mainly about ate attributes to race that in reality stem from failed leadership and bad decisions. Rather, other sources. We are a nation that has long it’s due to a national political discourse that juggled a meaningful and celebrated aspiration is structured around beleaguered middle- to individual rights, all the while maintaining class voters whom CBC members are per- throughout much of our history an array of ceived as not representing. Being tied to the constitutional, legal and societal divisions and Democratic Party, and even to the current hierarchies marked by race. And we are a soci- President, therefore continues to constrain ety that for centuries made judgments in group its potential activism. The Caucus makes terms, with consequences both obvious and many of its decisions with this in mind. It’s disastrous, only to suddenly shift to an indi- a major reason members have pushed for en- vidualist, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” trenched power within the House: to give defense when the bill came due. them an independent base that can sustain Today, now a half century after the civil them when the rest of the Party has conflict- rights revolution fundamentally altered our ing interests. possibilities and challenges, it remains dif- Second, with all this in mind, the Cau- ficult to discuss as a nation how race mat- cus needs to keep engaging in conversation ters, how it does not, and particularly how behind the scenes—with its constituents and it meaningfully intersects with class, gender, with other members, both of their own party individualism and ideology. We’ve also seen and the opposition, even if the national media in the supposedly post-racial Obama era how isn’t interested. Its members need to remember, ugly such conversations can quickly become, for instance, that one of their biggest legisla- and how fast people embrace clichés and plati- tive victories, the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, tudes and recoil from sustained debate. At the was notable not only for its substance but for least, these past few years should put the idea the fact that they organized and influenced a of a “post-racial era” to rest and provide en- majority of the Republican-dominated Senate couragement for further conversations about to override President Reagan’s veto. And third, the category and its relationship to power in it must make itself ready to seize the moment America. In this the CBC still has an impor- when it arises. The Tea Party and the labor tant role to play.

42 THE AMERICAN INTEREST