Identity Crisis for Congressional Black Caucus as Obama Takes Office

By the DiversityInc staff

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January 08, 2009

Keywords: Congress, Barack Obama, Democrat

As the stage is set for the nation's first Black president to take office, the Congressional Black Caucus, long considered the political power center for Blacks in Washington, is going through an identity crisis, reports The New York Times.

With the new Congress convening this week, the caucus has found itself split over whether or not Roland Burris should take over President-elect Obama's seat in the Senate. Appointed to the seat by discredited Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Burris was turned away by Senate Democrats on Tuesday, who have so far refused to recognize his appointment. Although Burris, who is Black, downplayed the role of race in the situation, supporters have bemoaned the fact that members of an all-white Senate were barring a Black man from replacing Obama, who had been the sole Black senator. Some members of the caucus have urged Senate leaders to drop their opposition to Burris, while others, including new caucus chairwoman Barbara Lee, have refused to take a position. Obama said Burris should not be seated.

Beyond the immediate controversy is the question of how a Black man in the White House will affect the caucus's agenda and influence. The Times reports that leaders have had to defend the need for the group in recent weeks.

"Nobody is confident of how to move in the presence of a Black president," Glen Ford, executive editor of Black Agenda Report, told the Times. "It has never happened before. How does one organize when the brother is in the White House?"

"Barack Obama needs to hear from us," said Representative James E. Clyburn, one the House's most influential leaders. "And we need to be a sounding board for him."

"We won't get preferential treatment because we are Black," said Representative Charles B. Rangel, one of the founders of the caucus. "But he will know who we are and what the struggle is and why our legislative agenda is there."

Click here to read the full story in The New York Times.

Click here to read "How Diverse Are Obama's Cabinet Choices?" on DiversityInc.com.