The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is an organization designed to maximize the collective influence of Black members of Congress. The CBC was formed during the first Nixon Administration in 1971 in response to that Administration's apparent indifference to issues important to Black Americans and to suggestions from Black members of Congress on how best to address those issues. Prior to the formation of the CBC, Black members of Congress had twice been denied access to President Nixon for the purpose of discussing the effects on Black Americans of administration policies and actions.
Throughout the first 10 years of the CBC's existence, the organization had to fight for its own recognition, as well as pursue the development of positions and the enactment of laws dealing with issues important to Black Americans. Many of the CBC's members and the organization's supporters outside of Congress credited the CBC with numerous successes. By 1981, however, "many Black legislators, including some of the CBC's original founders, became critical of the organization, viewing it as ineffectual and floundering." Although ardent supporters of the CBC like to think otherwise, this situation continues to prevail in 1994. Some members of the CBC and some Black Americans believe that the CBC is an effective organization, while some Black members of Congress view the CBC as an anachronism and many, perhaps most, Black Americans think that the CBC is irrelevant to their lives.
This study examines the CBC in the early-1990s. The purpose of this examination is to assess the effectiveness of the CBC. Hypothesis
The hypothesis of this study is that the effectiveness of CBC is limited because it is perceived by non Black members of Congress and by presidential administrations as a representative of an interest group, as opposed to being a representative of a competing political elite. The differentiation betw...