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

by April Ryan

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.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Memoir, Political Science

176 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2015

Reviews

[Kalen]

I don't give star ratings to books my company publishes but I will say that this is an important, thoughtful book--one every American should read.

[reneeNaDaCherry]

I think April is a very intelligent woman. I've seen her speak often on TV with other White House reporters and she gets to the point on social and civil rights issues when questioning our presidents. From Clinton to Bush or even Obama or the 45th. She is a force to be reckoned with and holds an important place in history.

Thanks April Ryan for this truly insightful book.
7/13/2017.

[Theresa]

Ryan has been a White House correspondent for four presidents and she uses this book as an opportunity to grade them on their approaches to race and racism. In many cases she offers new information she gleaned from private interviews with them and their associates, but she maintains her reporter's middle of road (read objective) voice, even in the case of Trump who has already revealed himself as a blatant racist and xenophobe. She says she is taking a "wait and see" stance.

[Anthony]

Up close revealing look at the behind the scenes of the White House from a veteran of journalism of the White House Press Corps. Working from Specialty Media elbow to elbow with the news insiders, April Ryan gives no quarter, as she challenges with the hard questions on race and politics.

[Leatrice]

Informational

I didn't know about Ms Ryan until her incident with cheeto #45. It's enlightening reading her journey in being one of the few African Americans in the press circle. She is diffinitely one to watch.

[Barry Vass]

April Ryan certainly has a unique perspective. She was the urban news director for thirteen years at an AM/FM radio station in Baltimore and then, when another correspondent in the same radio chain retired, she was picked to cover the White House beat during the second term of Bill Clinton's presidency. (And when we say "urban news in Baltimore", we're talking about news, stories and information that is of interest to inner-city Blacks). Mrs. Ryan was one of the few African American women to ever cover the White House beat, and she comes across as a no-holds-barred questioner who refuses to take no for an answer and whose ultimate goal was the truth as it related to Black people. This book covers the last term of Clinton's presidency, both Bush terms, and Barack Obama's first term. Here's an example of the writing: "As long as access to the President during Q&A is tightly controlled and primarily doled out to the biggest media, we will continue to try to curry the favor of the Press Secretary in the hope of getting even a small advantage over our competitors. We are the curse that plagues every Press Secretary and President. Our day-to-day inquiries about accountability may seem rude, intrusive, and ill-timed, but they are the price every President must pay for the privilege of governing in a democracy. For those of us in specialty media, our burden is the constant struggle to stand out from the crowd and not be left on the periphery." Those interested in politics and media will find this a fascinating accounting of the last three presidents.

[Barbara]

I saw Ms Ryan on a news program speaking about her book. She seemed articulate, interesting and just plain nice. She piqued my interest in her book. Unfortunatley all of these attributes did not translate well to the written page. I found it to be very dry and more of a memoir of her time as a correspondent working in a non-inclusive white man's club. I was not looking for a juicy tell- all, which I can happily report it was not. I feel she was more enamored with the person of the presidency than with dealing with their actual positions as affected civil rights.

[Val]

Mediocre at best. Redundant at times, and it was a very "on the surface" view of each administration. I couldn't finish the book, I felt like I wasn't reading anything I didn't already know. Her analyses wasn't thoughtful or complex enough.

[Rebekkila]

I was happy with the way the book was written. She seemed very unbiased about her reporting of how the last three presidents have handled the issue of race in America. I did find theclosing to be odd and controversial. I wonder if she is planning another book.

[Elizabeth]

Excellent perspective on three presidents from April Ryan

I very much enjoyed Ms. Ryan's perspective on the role each of these three presidents played in race relations. Her unique view as a daily member of the White House press corps put their impact into stark light.

[Global Donnica]

It was to the point about how each president interacted with her and very forthright regarding their policies .... Race and politics still go hand in hand

[Jennifer]

Great information, poor editing. the same sentences were used repeatedly.

[Robin]

If you don’t know Who April Ryan is, get to know her, read her book. Her voice and input is crucial in these dark times.

[Brigitte Dale]

Really interesting insight into the WH press corps and recent presidents’ interactions with race in America. However, the book itself is poorly written.

[Cheryl Rowland]

I found this book quite interesting and full of truths on how America has treated minorities, especially Black Americans.

[Debbie Prevost]

Good book! Good insight into the inner workings of the White House as far as the press is concerned.

[Petty Lisbon]

3.5
I thought this was an interesting book. We've all (probably) seen footage of the White House Press Briefings and this made me realize I never really thought about them. It was interesting seeing the private personas of the presidents.
While I do not agree with all of Bill Clinton's policies or his workplace behavior, I was still interested in how he was popular electorally and how he seems to be aware of what his coalition was looking for. I wish she talked more about the crime and labor policies instead of his international relations policies. For Bush, I thought the story about how she was assigned to sit in the international reporters section once and then was scolded for it by the president himself was interesting (I mean interesting that these kinds of workplace awkward moments can happen even in the White House, especially coming from that president).
I liked what she wrote about Obama's campaign and I was surprised that she thought it would be close. I think she kind of focused too much on random 1 on 1 moments (like the time the Salahis crashed the White House or the Salem professor incident) but she started to talk about Obama and the media more later on. I liked her epilogue focusing on Trump.

[Cathy]

I love the way Ms. Ryan writes. She is, as always, authentically herself. And that makes her voice really powerful. In this one, she tells you what she liked and what she didn’t about the many presidents she covered. You get insight into how the White House and press core work. It’s a personal perspective from a professional angle. Really interesting.

[olivia]

she's funny and i love the bestie clinton pics

[Grant Hines]

Great insight into the life a White House correspondent. I wish April had recounted her experience covering the Bush administration on 9/11.