By DAVID M.HERSZENHORN


WASHINGTON - For 40 years, the Congressional Black Caucus has been the center of black power in Washington, the go-to group for anyone hoping to court the black population and the politicians who represent them. But as Mr.Obama prepares to take office, shifting power to the White House in ways both real and symbolic, caucus members have been wrestling with an unsettling reality: the new president can propel their agenda but he may also diminish their influence.

Some Black Caucus members now rank among the most influential leaders in the House, including Representative James E.Clyburn of South Carolina, who is the majority whip, as well as the chairmen of three major committees.

The Black Caucus is going through an identity crisis. In recent weeks, leaders of the caucus found themselves defending the need for their group, composed of 41 House Democrats. It also is in the midst of an uneasy generational shift, as the old lions of the civil rights era of the 1960s begin to give way to a younger generation of black politicians who do not want to be pigeonholed by race.

Some black advocates and organizers said that Mr.Obama’s selection of a number of blacks to high-level positions, including Eric H.Holder Jr. as attorney general, Susan E.Rice as ambassador to the United Nations and Valerie Jarrett as senior adviser, makes it more likely that the new administration would supplant the caucus on black issues, or at least provide alternative levers of power.

“Nobody is confident of how to move in the presence of a black president,”said Glen Ford, executive editor of Black Agenda Report, an Internet-based political journal.“It has never happened before.
How does one organize when the brother is in the White House?”

As the only black senator, Mr.Obama was a member of the caucus but attended meetings only occasionally. His age and relatively moderate politics put him in the right-leaning camp of the heavily liberal group. Caucus members clearly rejoice in Mr.Obama’s election. But many members initially supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York over Mr.Obama.

The caucus split with Mr.Obama on the appointment of Roland W.Burris, a former attorney general who is black, to the president-elect’s vacant Senate seat. Some members urged Democratic leaders to seat Mr.Burris, who was appointed by the impeached governor of Illinois, while Mr.Obama did not support his nomination.

The incoming caucus chairwoman, Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat of California, made clear that black lawmakers would not rely on Mr.Obama to champion the causes dear to the caucus.

“Certainly President-elect Obama is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus,”she said,“but I think it’s important to recognize that he’s the president of the country.”

Some prominent black lawmakers said they expected the caucus to remind Mr.Obama of his roots.

“Barack Obama needs to hear from us,”Mr.Clyburn said.“And we need to be a sounding board for him.”

Aides to Mr.Obama say his focus on the economy is an example of his agenda being in harmony with that of the caucus, given the higher percentage of black Americans who are unemployed. But skeptics say addressing the broader economic problems is not the same as fixing the underlying reasons for higher black unemployment.

Some black Democrats predicted that the caucus would have more muscle than ever with Mr.Obama in the White House, and that there was comfort in the prospect of a president who would understand their struggles.

Representative Charles B.Rangel of New York, a founding member of the caucus, said,“As an African-American, we spend half of our time trying to explain to people why we need help and the stigma of slavery, and prejudice and discrimination.

“If you have a president who knows all of this, then you go straight to the quick,”Mr.Rangel added.“We won’t get preferential treatment because we are black, but he will know who we are and what the struggle is and why our legislative agenda is there.”