available to blacks. Leadership positions in gov-
ernment, like those of the African Americans
in these pages, were almost always off limits.
Extraordinary black pioneers broke through
here and there, and their lives and contribu-
tions are found in this book. For the most part,
however, federal government positions with sig-
nificant decision-making authority or control
of substantial funds were unavailable to blacks
until the 1960s. At local and state levels, Afri-
can Americans were elected as they migrated
away from the South, but they could represent
only black areas created by segregated housing
patterns. State and local appointed officials
fared no better and often even worse. Federal
appointed officials, such as Justice Thurgood
Marshall, who in 1967 became the first Afri-
can American Supreme Court justice, and De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development
secretary Robert Weaver, who in 1966 became
the first black cabinet official, made history.
Today, it's difficult to imagine the Supreme
Court without an African American justice.
The new standard for the cabinet and the up-
per level federal ranks is that they "look like
America."

The rise of the African American voter as
a national factor in American political life is
chiefly responsible for the increasing number
of African American elected and appointed
officials throughout the country. The direct
connection between black voters and black
elected officials, especially in the South, of
course, is clear. The link between black voters
and black appointed officials may seem more
attenuated. However, black appointed officials,
such as those whose contributions are
chronicled here, are often directly traceable to
the strength of the black vote. White politi-
cians, such as President George Bush, who
made Colin Powell the first black chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and President Bill
Clinton, who appointed Ron Brown the first
black secretary of commerce, recognize that
their own election prospects may be enhanced
by acknowledging the importance that African
Americans attach to appointments of blacks to
leadership positions.

The significance of the black vote to the
increasing number of black elected and ap-
pointed officials results from the coherence of
the vote. The reason for this voter coherence
is both strategic and historic. Strategically, a
virtual unity among voters on many issues mag-
nifies the African American vote beyond its
numbers and makes the vote more valuable in
achieving African American goals than other-
wise would be the case. One of the most im-
portant and persistent goals of the black com-
munity has been the elimination of the discrimi-
nation that has blocked the election and ap-
pointment of government officials who would
be most likely to give priority to the problems
of African Americans.

Historically, the cause of the coherent Af-
rican American vote is denial of the vote and
discrimination in its exercise. As a result of very
long periods of slavery and discrimination, Af-
rican Americans often perceive issues such as
economics and discrimination in the same way
because their color has ensured that they would
be treated in the same way.

Thus, whether in politics or art, in religion
or higher education, black history is woven into
the worldview of the African American com-
munity. Slavery, which lasted for almost 250
years, and discrimination, which persists until
today, have had enduring effects on African
Americans and on America. European immi-
grants, almost all of whom initially experienced
harsh discrimination, assimilated into equality,
and their original entry into the country is sel-
dom reflected in their voting patterns. Equal-
ity has come the hard way for African Ameri-
cans because of the way they came to the coun-
try and because the effects of that entry have
resulted in persistent discrimination. Race and
racism merged with the culture. Segregating
blacks from typical American patterns ensured
the development of self-protective responses,
none more important than voting patterns.
These patterns have been central to increases

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