Policy • History • ImpactPromise Tracker
Browse tracked promise records across presidents. The default view prioritizes promises with direct or meaningful downstream Black-community impact, with an option to show all records.
Filter by president, status, or topic, or search across titles, summaries, and promise text. Relevance reflects the degree to which a promise is tied to Black-community outcomes.
94 Promise Tracker records
Barack Obama
Repeal Don't Ask, Don't TellObama signed the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the military later certified and implemented open service by gay and lesbian troops.
Higher rates were restored for top earners, but the result came through a broader fiscal-cliff compromise rather than the original clean repeal framing.
George W. Bush
Sign the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization of 2006Bush signed a bipartisan reauthorization extending major Voting Rights Act protections, preserving preclearance and related enforcement tools before later judicial rollback weakened that framework.
The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 amended federal fair-housing law by expanding coverage to include disability and familial status, strengthening administrative and civil enforcement mechanisms, and revising available remedies and procedures under Title VIII.
Jimmy Carter
Sign the Community Reinvestment ActCarter signed the Community Reinvestment Act, creating a major federal anti-redlining and community-credit framework even though enforcement strength and practical outcomes varied over time.
Nixon administration policy helped establish the Philadelphia Plan framework, expanding affirmative-action enforcement in federal contracting and opening new access points in employment markets that had excluded Black workers.
In Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., the Supreme Court held that 42 U.S.C. 1982 bars private as well as public racial discrimination in the sale and rental of property, and that Congress had authority under the Thirteenth Amendment to reach such conduct.
Lyndon B. Johnson
Congress passes and President signs the Fair Housing Act of 1968The Fair Housing Act of 1968, enacted as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, established federal prohibitions on specified forms of housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin.
Lyndon B. Johnson
Pass federal fair-housing protectionsJohnson signed the Fair Housing Act in 1968, creating a major federal housing-discrimination protection with direct relevance to Black wealth-building and neighborhood access.
Lyndon B. Johnson
Appoint Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme CourtJohnson nominated and secured confirmation of Thurgood Marshall, creating a major Supreme Court appointment with direct Black civil-rights significance.
Johnson issued Executive Order 11246, creating a stronger executive framework for nondiscrimination and affirmative-action enforcement in federal contracting and laying groundwork for later expansion under Nixon.
Lyndon B. Johnson
Pass the Voting Rights Act after SelmaJohnson pushed for and signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, creating a major federal civil-rights protection against Black disenfranchisement.