Nearly two decades ago, Ellis Cose ripped the veil of contentment off the black middle class and exposed its seething frustrations with racism and the glass ceiling. In his latest book, The End of Anger (due out in May), Cose tells The Root's Omar Wasow that African-American leaders understand that it is more difficult for President Obama to appear to cater to minorities than it would be if he were white.
At the same time, Cose says that younger African Americans have a different worldview from preceding generations of black professionals. "All of a sudden, we have African Americans who are more optimistic about the future, more optimistic about the economy, more optimistic about what will happen to their children … than whites." Watch the video, and check out additional clips on the right.