Presidential Responsiveness to Black Interests From Grant to Biden: The Power of the Vote, the Power of Protest

Abstract

The Biden administration is the most responsive to Black interests since the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. This article places the administration's responsiveness in historical perspective by examining presidential responsiveness to Black interests, beginning with the presidency of Ulysses Grant, and focusing on the role of Black protest and the Black vote in activating responsiveness. After a brief discussion of theories of presidential power and responsiveness to Black interests, the article examines the factors that shaped the Biden administration's responsiveness, especially the role of the Black Lives Matter protests; the substantive content of the Biden policies; and their likely effectiveness in an era of partisan polarization and in the historical context of the presidency and race reform.