Discuss when African Americans began to attain political power in the United States and describe their current political alignments

Answer:

An ideal response will:
1. Discuss how African Americans began to attain political power after World War II due to the efforts of Franklin Roosevelt and later the civil rights movement.
2. Explain that African Americans initially identified with the Republican Party, but that this loyalty began to shift to the Democratic Party in the 1930s and 1940s and then solidified during the 1960s civil rights era. Further note that Democratic presidential candidates now receive nearly 90 percent of the African American vote.