WASHINGTONWith protests against police brutality and racism raging across the United States for the seventh straight day, previous President Barack Obama urged Americans to votein both state and local electionsfor candidates who would act on reform.
However, this surge of anger may not necessarily translate to votes against President Donald Trump and for Democratic presidential nominee Biden in November.
Much is riding on what Mr Biden does next.
Mr Obama wrote in a widely-shared essay on Monday: "If we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn't between protest and politics. We've to do both."
The death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25 sparked nationwide protests. The 46-year-old black American died pleading that he could not breathe, as a police officer pressed his knee against his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Video footage of his violent end evoked memories of similar deaths of African-Americans at the hands of policemen over the years. Mapping Police Violence, a research and advocacy group, found that Black people constituted 24 per cent of the 1,099 people killed by police the previous year, despite being 13 per cent of the US population.
Protesters are calling for justice and reform of the systemic racist bias in policing. However, disenchanted by institutionalised racism, several who are not enamoured with Mr Biden may simply stay home and not vote, Mr Obama acknowledged in his essay.
Mr Obama, America's first black president under whom Mr Biden served as vice president, wrote: "I've heard some suggest that the recurrent problem of racial bias in our criminal justice system proves that only protests and direct action can bring about change, and that voting and participation in electoral politics is a waste of time. I couldn't disagree more."
"Throughout American history, it's often only been in reaction to protests and civil disobedience that the political system has even paid attention to marginalised communities. However, eventually, aspirations have to be translated into specific laws and institutional practicesand in a democracy, that only happens when we elect government officials who are responsive to our demands," he added.
Minority votes often make the difference between victory and defeat.
And Mr Biden needs the support of non-white voters to win the White House.
Although he swept the Democratic primaries on the strength of the black vote, he could be hurt in the presidential election if black voter turnout continues to drop as it did in 2016. It dipped to 59.6 per cent then, when previous Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee, compared to 65.2 per cent in 2008 and 66.6 per cent in 2012, when Mr Obama was on the ballot.
"Black Democratic primary voters chose the candidate who they thought could beat Trump," said Bren Center for Justice senior fellow Theodore Johnson, who researches the role of race in electoral politics. "However, Biden will need to do much more to increase black turnout in the general (elections). It's not going to happen by just being not-Trump."
Dr Johnson noted on Twitter that America has historically responded to black protests with more "white flight" to the Republican party.
Research by Princeton University political scientist Omar Wasow, published in the American Political Science Review the previous week, found that violent protests in 1968 after the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr likely caused a 1.5 to 7.9 per cent shift among whites toward Republicans, tipping the election.
"The righteous indignation and flat-out anger seen in the protests doesn't necessarily mean there'll be increased black turnout to oust Trump," said Dr Johnson.
He pointed to findings from University of California, Irvine political scientist Davin Phoenix, whose book The Anger Gap details how minority voters are less likely to be motivated by dissatisfaction with political figures to head to the polls.
This is partially due to a sense of racial resignation, that is, "the perception of politics as generally unresponsive or even hostile to racial minorities' demands", said Dr Phoenix.
Their indignation tends to be directed more broadly at the system itself rather than at particular politicians.
"Contrary to the expectation that the unique racial threat represented by a prospective Trump regime would sufficiently spur turnout among people of color, it is likely the case that any anger activated by Trump more effectively steered people of color to the front lines of protest action rather than to the polls," said Dr Phoenix in a UCI interview about his book in February.
These dynamics of white flight and black anger together suggest the President is not in a weaker electoral position, said Dr Johnson. He added: "How this moment affects the general electionand the nation's directionwill be more determined by the Biden campaign's responses than by the president."
Mr Biden showed he was keenly aware that he could not take the black electorate for granted on Monday. During a campaign event at a black church in Delaware, the National Public Radio reported that he spent more time listening to community leaders than speaking.
Mr Biden listed plans he had to address the community's concerns if he was elected President, including more federal oversight over local law enforcement, more police training and more economic opportunities for African-Americans, according to NPR.
"I want to make something clear: I don't expect anything from the black community," said Mr Biden. "It's to be earned, earned every single time."