Problem
The idea that Black politics is primarily a protest politics may be misguided. It may be misguided because, as Dawson states, black politics has not championed radical leftist causes, organizationally, since the 60's. Furthermore, Payne chronicles the role that grassroots organizing played in the 50's and 60's. This approach seems to be endemic to that era. If black politics is no longer tied to the grassroots nor to radical causes, what purpose does the understanding of black politics as protest serve? Which constituency or group, if any, does this understanding benefit? Is it a useful or harmful fiction; harmful or useful for whom?