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The black political experience in all o fits totality or in terms o fits causal realities flows from the politics of race in America and its sundry manifestations in the American political process (Walton, 1997). V.O. Key writes 'In its grand outlines the politics of the South revolves around the position of the Negro. It is at times interpreted as a politics of cotton, as a politics of free trade, as a politics of agrarian poverty, or as a politics of planter and plutocrat. Although such interpretations have a superficial validity, in the last analysis the major peculiarities of southern politics go back to the Negro. Whatever phases of the southern political process one seeks to understand, sooner or later, the trail of inquiry leads to the Negro' (V.O. Key, Jr., 1997). Until Carol Moseley-Braun's nomination for the U.S. Senate in the State of Illinois, no black woman with major party backing had ever run for the U.S. Senate. Most Major party candidates have been white men. Chief among the problems limiting the electability of women as well as minorities is political incumbency (Tate, 1997). This paper sketches the checkered political landscape in Georgia during the past half century. Within this context, these writers explore the odyssey of two African American political candidates seeking their respective party's nomination as well as a seat in the U.S. Senate in Georgia's 2004 election., Many will remember that, during the presidential election of 2004, incumbent President George W. Bush won reelection over Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry (D-Mass). Others will remember that African American [...]

By Marcus D. Pohimann New York: Longman, 1990. Pp. 271. The three books in this review-essay touch upon three distinct and different aspects in African-American politics. First there is the [...]

The three books in this review-essay touch upon three distinct and different aspects in African-American politics. First there is the matter of African-American political culture which the Henry book addresses [...]

By Charles R. Henry. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990. Pp. 140. The three books in this review-essay touch upon three distinct and different aspects in African-American politics. First there is [...]

Betrayal: How Black Intellectuals Have Abandoned the Ideals of the Civil Rights Era by Houston A. Baker, Jr. New York, Columbia University Press, 2008. 272 pp. $24.95. Houston A. Baker [...]

Strom: The Complicated Personal and Political Life of Strom Thurmond by Jack Bass and Marilyn W. Thompson. New York, Public Affairs, 2005. 415 pp. $27.50. This book is a superb [...]

Introduction On the eve of the Supreme Court's forthcoming landmark decision on the University of Michigan's court case, Professor Avon Drake, co-author of an award-winning book on Affirmative Action, once [...]

Purpose - The African American electorate in Savannah, Georgia, has a history of being managed and manipulated, but over a period of time it reached its full potential. This electorate evolved during the leadership of a white Democratic mayor who manipulated the increased number of black registered voters as a result of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA ) to maintain white empowerment in a majority black city. This struggle for power proves that national reforms do not always have the immediate consequences that national leaders hoped. This chapter explores how the African American electorate persevered and took advantage of the political mistakes of others to attain its empowerment at the mayoral level. This evolution of political mobilization and empowerment would culminate with the election of the city's first female African American mayor in 2011. Research design - We conduct a comparative analysis of election results over time. Findings - Federal intervention has been the most powerful and helpful to the African American electorate. However, while the Savannah African American electorate was managed and manipulated, such reforms were implemented in a gradual and limited manner. Hence, the rise of black mayoral power is the result of a lot of lucky political accidents due to a shrewd Democratic mayor who used the 1965 VRA to extend and maintain white empowerment in a majority African American urban city. Thus, national reforms do not always have the immediate consequences that national leaders hoped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have argued that explicit racial appeals are rejected in contemporary American politics because they are perceived as violating the norm of racial equality. We test this claim with an experimental design, embedded in a representative survey of Georgia where, until recently, the state flag featured the Confederate battle emblem. In our experiment, we manipulate the salience of racial cues in news accounts of the state flag controversy in Georgia. We hypothesize that women are more likely than men to reject explicit racial appeals. We focus on the effects of explicit messages in two areas: support for Confederate symbols and identification with the Democratic Party. As hypothesized, when the racial significance of this debate is made explicit support for the Confederate flag declines, but only among women. Similarly, explicit appeals lead to lower levels of Democratic identification among men, but among women the effects are weaker and less consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with the 1972 presidential election and for each election thereafter Harvard University's Institute of Politics in the John F. Kennedy School of Government has held a post-election symposium where all of the campaign managers, pollsters, political consultants and media advisors for all of the primary and general election candidates come together with leading journalists, electronic and print, and political commentators and pundits to discuss and dialogue about what occurred during the election among the candidates, nominees, and the winner and losers. The symposia have allowed campaign managers to describe what happened and forecast for the forthcoming presidential election. After the multi-day symposium a book length transcript is published. In 1992 the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania launched its own symposia where the campaign managers of the Democratic and Republican nominees in the general election are invited to discuss what happened and forecast for the next presidential election. The ten books in the Harvard series and the three books in the Pennsylvania series are used as data sources in this article to determine if any of the campaign managers forecasted and/or predicted an African American presidential candidate, even when such candidates had appeared in previous years. While our findings uncover some of the interests and concerns of presidential campaign managers and advisors since 1972, the overriding focus of the symposia has been on the nature, scope, and significance of the African American electorate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an examination into the political career of Barack Obama in his early electoral bids and his tenure as a U.S. Senator. Introductory comments are given noting the significance of Obama's career in Illinois, citing his African American ethnic status as well as his complex lineage. In-depth analysis is presented charting the election campaigns which Obama participated in between 1996-2004, noting the demographics of his voter support, his accomplishments, and his political strategies.

The authors reflect on the election of Senator Barack Obama as U.S. president in 2008. They claim that Obama's win was deemed impossible by most people when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination. They pointed out that certainty of Hillary Clinton's victory in the Democratic primaries was perceived to be very high. They argued that little emphasis was given to the African American electorate during the campaign.

The article presents a study on the African American politicians who ran for president in the U.S. Senator Barack Obama is the first African American to win enough votes to secure the nomination of the Democratic Party for president and the first African American to become eligible to run in the nation's November general election. The aim of the study is to evaluate the relevance and usefulness of literature on African American presidential candidates to the 2008 election. One of the literature considered for the study was the book "Black Presidential Politics in American: A Strategic Approach."

This article presents a systematic and comprehensive analysis of 12 different African American senatorial candidates in the 2004 and 2006 elections. In light of the election of Senator Barack Obama in 2004, the potential of a Senate public policymaking option is explored for solving problems inherent in the African American community. The authors conclude that there is indeed a new public policymaking option available with an African American present in the U.S. Senate. However, Republican control of the Senate and the executive branch were offsetting factors and that changes have to take place before the Senate policymaking option can have a substantial or any influence at all. Developments in future election cycles could well enhance the potential for the exercise of this option in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of race and gender in candidate evaluations. Unlike previous research, we argue that the role of race and gender in electoral politics must be examined simultaneously because of their mutually reinforcing relationship. To do so, we explore the connection between the race and gender of voters and their propensity to support black female candidates. Using precinct-level data, experimental data, and national exit poll data from two congressional election years, we demonstrate that black women are the strongest supporters of black female candidates. We also find that support for black female candidates is contingent on their background and political experience. Black female candidates with significant experience in politics can attract both black and white voters, regardless of gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based upon a textual analysis of Ralph Bunche's writings since 1940 to determine the nature, scope, and significance of his educational philosophy of the discipline of political science. From this textual analysis of his writings, the article finds that five major intellectual categories emerged from his writings and notes; whether those categories were original ones and/or whether they were modifications of categories already in existence. After having evaluated the original and secondary nature of these categories, this article indicates that Bunche's educational philosophy created a different perspective and vision for the discipline. Herein lays his great contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the allegations of disenfranchisement of Afro-American voters in Florida during the presidential election on November 7, 2001. Discussion on the disenfranchisement as a denial and suppression of a Constitutional right and Democratic principle; Details on disenfranchisement in the presidential election.