Michael Mitchell - Grassroots and Coalitions: Exploring the Possibilities of Black Politics

Grassroots and Coalitions

EDITORS
Michael Mitchell
Arizona State University

David Covin
California State University-Sacramento

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR
Tiffany Willoughby-Herard
University of California, Irvine

Georgia Persons
Georgia Institute of Technology

Robert Smith
San Francisco State University

Duchess Harris
Macalester University

Cheryl M. Miller
University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Lorenzo Morris
Howard University

Todd Shaw
University of South Carolina

K.C. Morrison
Mississippi State University

Melissa Nobles
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lisa Aubrey
Arizona State University

National Political Science Review, Volume 15

First published 2013 by Transaction Publishers

Published 2017 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Copyright 2013 by Taylor & Francis.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2013011203

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Grassroots and coalitions : exploring the possibilities of Black politics / Michael Mitchell and David Covin, editors.

pages cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-4128-5261-6

1. African AmericansPolitics and government21st century. 2. State government United States. 3. Local governmentUnited States. 4. Political participationUnited States. 5. African AmericansRelations with Hispanic AmericansPolitical aspects. I. Mitchell, Michael, 1944 editor of compilation. II. Covin, David, 1940 editor of compilation.

E185.615.G6716 2013

323.1196073dc23

2013011203

ISBN 13: 978-1-4128-5261-6 (pbk)

In Memoriam
The Editors

The title for this volume of the National Political Science Review (NPSR), Grassroots and Coalitions: Exploring the Possibilities of Black Politics, stands as the organizing theme for the volumes peer-reviewed research articles. Each in its own way explores the patterns of power competition at the state and local levels in American politics.

In a country the size of a continental nation like the United States, quite clearly power is dispersed across varied types of power structures. Most frequently, the lions share of attention goes to national level power structures and national political institutions. Nevertheless, the competition for power and the pursuit of the goals of Black politics, which encompass those of striving for social and economic equality, a strengthening of collective Black agency, and the political autonomy of Black political actors, take place across the multilayered terrain of American politics.

During and after the historic civil rights campaigns of the 1960s, Black mayors appeared as new figures of power and authority. They were placed into office by commanding insurgencies, mobilized both against the eroding hold of old incumbents, perceived as perpetrators of inequality, as well as by a sense of Black agency, articulated in Black nationalist and Black power terms. Pioneering mayors such as Carl Strokes of Cleveland, Richard Hatcher of Gary, Kenneth Gibson of Newark, and Harold Washington of Chicago represented changes in the power structure of American politics.

The research articles in this volume take another look at Black power emergence, but from different angles, and under the changed historical circumstances of more than forty years since the first breakthroughs. Enough time has lapsed to warrant a new look at the circumstances and terrain in which Black politics is played out at the lower reaches of American politics. These articles probe, for example, an apparent enduring capacity of Black agency to elect Black candidates at the state and local levels. They explore whether Black agency fits within the contours and limits of established political institutions and practices. One article probes the classic proposition of racial fear and examines the ability of Black candidates to win state-wide elections with crucial White support (Thomas Carsey and Jason Windett). Another article looks at the impact of local political organizations in enhancing the chances of Black candidates in winning local races (Mica Kubic). The other articles raise the question of whether Black agency has matured sufficiently to take on the newer challenges of Black politics: forming meaningful coalitions with minority groups similarly situated in the social, economic, and political pyramids of American society. Tatishe Nteta and Kevin Wallsten look at the messages of Black pastors regarding affinities with the Latino community, and Sharon Wright et al. investigate the extent of the differences in the participatory styles of poor Blacks and poor Whites.

In this issue we introduce a special section on the recent presidential election. We asked several members of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), our parent organization, to submit brief essays on what they regard as the more important aspects of the election. The essays highlight the enduring changes that have occurred in Black American politics marked by President Obamas election to a second term. These changes took place as Black American politics has confronted new complexities, particularly regarding measures of voter suppression, and partisan polarization directed against the Obama presidency. Despite these new obstacles, Black Americans voted in unprecedented numbers. As one of the essays (Christopher Stout and Katherine Tate) argues, the response to these challenges suggests a growing sophistication in employing counter tactics within the electoral arena itself.

Another essay (Wendy G. Smooth) underscores the presence of Black women voters in this electoral contest. Black women reached the highest voting turnout of all ethnic, racial, and gender constituencies in President Obamas re-election. They were key to Obamas success. The essay further argues that Black women are, therefore, entitled to recognition in the form of a prominent place in President Obamas second-term policy agenda.