This handbook provides a thorough treatment of the various mechanisms African Americans have used to participate in U.S. political affairs from the colonial era to the present. With contributions by several of the field's experts, this concise, provocative volume explores the evolution and current status of African American political action. Focusing on distinct types of activity (protest politics, grassroots movements, electoral politics, political office holding), it charts the unique development of African Americans as they progressed from enslavement by whites to empowerment as citizens to an ever-growing influence on elections. As the book vividly demonstrates, African Americans' efforts to act on their own political behalf didn't begin in the 1960s. Even while enslaved, black people courageously launched petitions, instigated strikes on plantations, and staged full-blown revolts, creating a legacy of activism that expanded through the abolition movement, Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, the post-World War II civil rights movement, and into the present.

Examines African American political action in the context of their progress from slaves to citizens.

This book is designed to explore the historical and current level of African-American political participation, to assess the fruits of participation, and to provide recommendations for improving the efficacy of African American political participation in the future. Part One focuses on the historic struggle for securing and expanding African-American voting rights; Part Two focuses on the economic, legal, philosophic, and cultural context of African-American politics; Part Three focuses on prospects for African-American politics in the future--particularly the opportunities to develop successful electoral coalitions; and Part Four provides specific recommendations to produce fuller inclusion of African-Americans in the American polity. By providing a balanced account from the national perspective, this volume assesses the historical and current positions of African-Americans in politics throughout the nation. It assesses the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and clarifies the significance of the struggle for voting rights--and how extensively equitable voting rights have been achieved. By focusing on the economic, legal, and cultural contexts of African-American politics, it evaluates both the potential for success and the built-in limitations of American society in improving black status and everyday life-chances through the political arena. The possibilities for coalition politics are carefully analyzed--providing useful insights into the pitfalls and opportunities of coalition building among minorities and between minorities and various sectors of whites. The book also makes recommendations for increasing African-American political participation and provides strategies for the future. This collection will be invaluable to Black Studies programs and those concerned with current American socio-political developments.

Examines the continuing ethnic diversification of black America and its impact on black political empowerment. In The Caribbeanization of Black Politics, Sharon D. Wright Austin explores the impact of ethnic diversification of African American communities on the prospects for black political empowerment. Focusing on Boston, Chicago, Miami, and New York City—cities that for the last several years have experienced an influx of black immigrants—she surveyed more than two thousand African Americans, Cape Verdeans, Haitians, and West Indians. Although many studies conclude that African American group consciousness causes them to participate in politics at higher rates when socioeconomic status is controlled for, Wright Austin analyzes whether this is true for other black groups. She assesses the current political incorporation of these groups by looking at data on public officeholders and by examining political coalitions and conflicts among the groups, and she also discusses the possible future of black political development in these cities. Sharon D. Wright Austin is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the African American Studies Program at the University of Florida. She is the author of The Transformation of Plantation Politics: Black Politics, Concentrated Poverty, and Social Capital in the Mississippi Delta, also published by SUNY Press.

This book is designed to explore the historical and current level of African-American political participation, to assess the fruits of participation, and to provide recommendations for improving the efficacy of African American political participation in the future. Part One focuses on the historic struggle for securing and expanding African-American voting rights; Part Two focuses on the economic, legal, philosophic, and cultural context of African-American politics; Part Three focuses on prospects for African-American politics in the future—particularly the opportunities to develop successful electoral coalitions; and Part Four provides specific recommendations to produce fuller inclusion of African-Americans in the American polity. By providing a balanced account from the national perspective, this volume assesses the historical and current positions of African-Americans in politics throughout the nation. It assesses the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and clarifies the significance of the struggle for voting rights—and how extensively equitable voting rights have been achieved. By focusing on the economic, legal, and cultural contexts of African-American politics, it evaluates both the potential for success and the built-in limitations of American society in improving black status and everyday life-chances through the political arena. The possibilities for coalition politics are carefully analyzed—providing useful insights into the pitfalls and opportunities of coalition building among minorities and between minorities and various sectors of whites. The book also makes recommendations for increasing African-American political participation and provides strategies for the future. This collection will be invaluable to Black Studies programs and those concerned with current American socio-political developments.

The official publication of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), this annual publication includes significant scholarly research reflecting the diverse interests of scholars from various backgrounds who use a variety of models, approaches, and methodologies. The central focus is on politics and policies that advantage or disadvantage groups because of race, ethnicity, sex, or other factors. The research is performed in a variety of contexts and settings.This second volume is dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the NCOBPS, and is commemorated in a special introductory section that includes major feature articles, a special symposium, and a book review section.Lucius J. Barker is Edna F. Gellhorn Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science at Washington University, St. Louis, and author of a number of books and articles on American judicial politics and public law and African-American politics.

African American political behavior is a puzzling thing some days. Their still sometimes differential status creates seemingly unexplainable behavior. This dissertation explores three interesting concepts in the political participation of African Americans. The first paper explores the effect of two factors of alienation on voting behavior. The results show that voters that mistrust the government are more likely to vote than those with more trust in the government. The second paper is a qualitative look into African Americans who choose to veer from the assumed norm in African American party identification. Why does a small, faithful pocket of Blacks continue to identify as Republicans versus Democrats? Their own words will speak to their choices regarding the party choice, important issues facing their community, the pressure to be a Democrat, and why Republican outreach to African Americans is an epic failure. The third paper examines the effects of alternative political participation on voting behavior for African Americans. Does engaging in protest behavior increase the likelihood of voting? The research indicates that not only does protest increase voting, but signing a petition is an even stronger indicator of whether one will cast a vote or not.