This study explores the problems Blacks faced in seeking to create a space for themselves within the polity, and evaluates how those preentry strategies and organizations have been incorporated into political life after their passage into ‘the promised land." Pinderhughes shows that creativity, innovation, coalition formation, and political mobilization which were vital parts of Black activities in the first half of the century slowed and shifted focus in the last third of the century. The activities of Black interest groups in the Voting Rights policy arena illustrate the difficulties civil rights groups have faced in encouraging political participation, in translating protest into politics, and in developing the rationale for contacting and interacting with public officials.