The Presidency in Black and White: My Up-Close View of Three Presidents and Race in America

by April Ryan White House Correspondent, Elijah Cummings (Foreword by)

Overview

2016 NAACP Image Award Nominee, Essence Top 10 books of 2015, African American Literary Show Inc. 2015 Best Non Fiction Award

In The Presidency in Black and White, journalist April Ryan gives readers a compelling and personal behind-the-scenes look at race relations in contemporary America from the epicenter of American power and policy making—the White House, her beat since 1997. On behalf of the American Urban Radio Networks, and through her "Fabric of America" news blog, she delivers her readership and listeners (millions of African Americans and close to 300 radio affiliates) a “unique urban and minority perspective in news.” Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her unique insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation’s last three presidents.

In Bill Clinton, Ryan saw both a savvy politician who did his best to stay above the racial fray in public, and a man privately pained from the wrongs done to African-Americans throughout our history, not unlike those with whom he’d grown up in Arkansas. In George W. Bush, a man she respected as a faithful husband and father, an unprecedented amount of backlash against what was spun and perceived as racism in his policies – particularly those surrounding his administration’s horrendous handling of Hurricane Katrina – from which he never truly recovered, and by which he remained personally haunted for years. And in Barack Obama – a President expected to transcend divisions and raise us above our racial squabbling simply by taking office – a leader who, especially early in his administration, drew his own form of fire from those who noted his surprising absence from various racial issues that presented themselves on the national stage, but upon which he did not seem moved to comment, much less act.
With humor, grace, and determination, April shares the highs and lows of her sometimes lonely but rewarding battle to keep questions of race relations in America on the political front burner, and in the President’s ear. She has made this battle her life’s work and will never stop fighting to give a voice to those members of our society who have too long been silenced.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442238411
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/15/2015
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 2.80(d)

About the Author

April Ryan, a 28-year journalism veteran, has been the White House correspondent for 17 years for American Urban Radio Networks (AURN). She is also the Washington Bureau Chief. Along with daily responsibilities at the White House, Ryan hosts the daily feature, “The White House Report,” which is broadcast to AURN’s nearly 300 affiliated stations nationwide. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

1 Establishing a Racial Baseline 9

2 Covering the White House 29

3 Specialty Media 41

4 Presidents and Race 63

5 President Clinton 73

6 President Bush 89

7 President Obama 115

8 The Presidential "Race" Report Cards 143

Index 147

Editorial Reviews

12/15/2014
As White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks for 17 years, April Ryan has enjoyed a front-row seat (often literally) during some of recent American history’s most tumultuous moments. That background isn’t exploited nearly enough, however, in this loosely organized account of the administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Ryan states often that she strived to bring minority-focused issues to prominence during her career, so it’s surprising how rarely she depicts herself asking hard questions when given the chance. Describing her experience traveling with Mr. and Mrs. Bush to view a post-Katrina New Orleans, for example, she prefers to focus on the president’s demeanor rather than his behavior, regretting that “this president’s heart never came through during his two terms.” Controversial topics, like the 2000 election, are referenced only briefly, while more trivial subjects, such as the incident in which two socialites crashed a White House party during the Obama administration, receive multiple pages. Ryan shows the most insight into Clinton, with whom she had more one-on-one interviews than any other reporter ever has (he even granted her an interview specifically for the book). Readers will come away with a new perspective on the 42nd President, but may wish that Ryan could have applied equal attention to numbers 43 and 44. Agent: Diane Nine, Nine Speakers Inc. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

April Ryan has taken the mystery out of the White House. She tells the story in black and white. This is a rare story, but more importantly a story about America. This is a very valuable contribution to the American history zeitgeist, and a story all Americans need to experience.

Ernest Green

Most people just talk about “being in the room.” April Ryan not only is in the room, but also grabs your attention in a fascinating, personal, and yes, “insider’s” look at The Presidency in Black and White. April brings us inside the Oval Office as she recounts with humor and poignancy her observations and encounters with three American presidents as they have tackled the often slippery and dangerous slopes of race and racism in America.

Michael Steele

[This book] gives readers a compelling behind-the-scenes look at race relations from the epicenter of American power and policy making—the White House—April Ryan’s beat since 1997. Ryan tells us what it was like for a pioneering African American female reporter to become a respected member of the White House Press Corps, one of the greatest old boy networks in the nation’s capital.. . .With humor, grace, and determination, Ryan shares the highs and lows of a sometimes lonely battle, to keep questions of race and the lives of her inner-city listeners on the national stage.

African American Literature Book Club

A revealing and important look at the presidency—and the press—by a veteran journalist who’s been on the inside for two decades. With often surprising details that defy the conventional views of the Clinton, Bush, and Obama presidencies, April Ryan takes the reader to state dinners, aboard Air Force One, and into press conferences to explore the role of race in the White House and press corps.

Steve Thomma

Despite the bland menu press officers often serve reporters who cover the White House, April Ryan has always been someone who insists on spice. Her questions, sassy probing, and good humor force a predominantly white culture in that most exclusive of places to confront uneasy questions of race, equality, and discrimination. She made the scales fall from my eyes, and her work—reflected in this marvelous volume—will one day change the heart of a president she covers.

Mike McCurry

April Ryan’s long service in the White House press corps has given her an intimate understanding of the value of political leverage, for presidents and the American public alike… The Presidency in Black and White is an important contribution toward achieving that political leverage—that place for us to stand from which we can move our nation toward the society it is meant to become. For that, April Ryan deserves our gratitude and support.

Hon. Elijah Cummings

From her Unique vantage point as the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks (AURN), Ryan has had the immense pleasure of witnessing history in the making through three presidential administrations. As an African American woman in a field dominated by white males, however, Ryan has brought a perspective to her coverage that both stems from her personal background and reflects the wider concerns of her urban radio audience. From her days as a rookie reporter in the Clinton White House to her tenure as a veteran journalist during the Obama administration, Ryan analyzes each president's time in office in terms of his commitment to and success in addressing issues that bridge the country's racial divide. Transcripts of press conference Q&As and exclusive interviews provide crucial insight into how each president fared on issues of domestic initiatives, administration diversity, and acknowledgment of racial inequities. Forthright and formidable, open and appreciative, Ryan delivers a no-holds-barred evaluation of the country's chief executives on matters of race and equality.

Booklist

From her Unique vantage point as the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks (AURN), Ryan has had the immense pleasure of witnessing history in the making through three presidential administrations. As an African American woman in a field dominated by white males, however, Ryan has brought a perspective to her coverage that both stems from her personal background and reflects the wider concerns of her urban radio audience. From her days as a rookie reporter in the Clinton White House to her tenure as a veteran journalist during the Obama administration, Ryan analyzes each president's time in office in terms of his commitment to and success in addressing issues that bridge the country's racial divide. Transcripts of press conference Q&As and exclusive interviews provide crucial insight into how each president fared on issues of domestic initiatives, administration diversity, and acknowledgment of racial inequities. Forthright and formidable, open and appreciative, Ryan delivers a no-holds-barred evaluation of the country's chief executives on matters of race and equality.

Booklist