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This new text examines the relationship of African Americans to the American political system through both historical and contemporary analytical lenses. Gillespie and Nunnally examine the relationships of African Americans over time to American political institutions such as the presidency, Congress, the judiciary, political parties, media, and interest groups, accounting for the significance that race as a social construct has had on African Americans' political struggle for full citizenship, social and political inclusion, socioeconomic mobility and status, and equality in American democracy.
List of contents
Part I: The Origins of African American Politics
1. Africans and Race in America
2. Democracy in Theory versus Practice: The U.S. Constitution and Socio-Political Dualities
3. Black Political Thought: How Blacks Have Conceived Black Politics over Time
Part II: Blacks and American Political Institutions, Past and Present
4. Blacks and Political Parties
5. Interest Groups and Social Movements
6. The Presidency
7. Congress and Representation
8. The Judiciary
9. State and Local Government
10. Media Representations and Their Implications for Black Politics
Part III: Contemporary African American Political Behavior
11. African American Sociopolitical Participation
12. African American Electoral Behavior
13. African American Public Opinion
Part IV: Intragroup Cleavages
14. Linked Fate and Unity within African American Politics
15. Class Cleavages and Internal Quest for Power within African American Communities
16. Gender, Sexuality, and Black Politics
17. Transnationalism, Immigration and the Politics of Diaspora
Part V: The Future of African American Politics
18. Beyond Black and White: Black Politics in Multi-Racial America
19. The Future of African American Politics
About the author
Andra Gillespie is Associate Professor of Political Science at Emory University. She is the author of The New Black Politician: Cory Booker, Newark, and Post-Racial America (NYU Press) and editor of Whose Black Politics? Cases in Post-Racial Black Leadership (Routledge).
Shayla Nunnally is Associate Professor in the department of political science and the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of Trust in Black America: Race, Discrimination, and Politics (NYU Press).
Summary
This new text examines the relationship of African Americans to the American political system through both historical and contemporary analytical lenses. Gillespie and Nunnally examine the relationships of African Americans over time to American political institutions such as the presidency, Congress, the judiciary, political parties, media, and interest groups, accounting for the significance that race as a social construct has had on African Americans’ political struggle for full citizenship, social and political inclusion, socioeconomic mobility and status, and equality in American democracy.
This innovative text accounts for the contemporary experiences of African Americans by analyzing national socioeconomic data, public policies, and public opinion to assess the current conditions by which African Americans live, experience, and perceive their sociopolitical circumstances. Given the historical and contemporary influences that race has had on African Americans’ experiences, this text will describe nuances that, heretofore, have received minimal attention in previous texts on African American politics: diasporic experiences among black ethnic groups (West Indians and Africans), intersectional experiences (gender, class, and age), intergroup and multi-racial dynamics, as well as politics at the state and local level.
