Political agency

Although our reading guide has ample questions for discussion, I will persist in the face of potential redundancy to throw some more into the ring.

Historically: (With apologies to Colin for flogging the dead horse of the FHA)
Sugrue makes it clear that "local elected officials controlled the implementation of federal policies" (60) like homeowners benefits under the GI Bill of Rights and loans throught the FHA, which translated into discrimination and disenfranchisement of African-Americans in Detroit over many decades after WWII. What was the status of the political agency of Af./Ams in Detroit? The key to this question is that elected officials need to be elected to hold office. Certainly there were enough votes out there to make an impact on the elected officials responsible for the discriminatory actions of these locally controlled Federal agencies. Was this a product of voter apathy, lack of organization, unfamiliarity with government programs, or some unknown quantity?

Historiographically: Sugrue's choice of a case study for this topic is a wise one - as Melissa and others have said, it provides far greater specificity and detail than a more "macro" approach. Within his more focused approach, I am left wondering why Sugrue limits his discussion of political activism on the part of African Americans in Detroit to the broad efforts of the NAACP rather than exploring at the grassroots level the political agendas and voting habits of his targetted study?