Countervailing Forces in African-American Civic Activism, 1973–1994

by Fredrick C. Harris , Valeria Sinclair-Chapman , Brian D. McKenzie

• ISBN13: 9780521614139
• ISBN10: 0521614139
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-12
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In a first-ever study assessing black civic participation after the civil rights movement, Fredrick C. Harris, Valeria Sinclair-Chapman and Brian D. McKenzie demonstrate that the changes in black activism since the civil rights movement is characterized by a tug-of-war between black political power on one side and economic conditions in black communities on the other. As blacks gain greater access and influence within the political system, black participation in political activities increases while downward turns in the economic conditions of black communities produce less civic involvement in black communities. Examining changes in black activism from the early 1970s to the 1990s, this tug-of-war demonstrates that the quest for black political empowerment and the realities of economic and social life act as countervailing forces, in which negative economic and social conditions in black communities weaken the capacity of blacks to organize so that their political voices can be heard.

Author Biography

Fredrick C. Harris is Associate Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of African-American Politics at the University of Rochester Valeria Sinclair-Chapman is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester Brian D. McKenzie is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(26)
Good Times and Bad: Trends in the Economic, Social, and Political Conditions of African Americans in the Post--Civil Rights Era	27	(26)
Studying Group Activism: Toward a Macro Approach to Black Civic Participation	53	(28)
Echoes of Black Civic Activism: Historical Foundations and Longitudinal Considerations	81	(20)
Shifting Forces: Modeling Changes in Post-Civil Rights Black Activism	101	(34)
From Margin to Center: Bringing Structural Forces into Focus in the Analysis of Black Activism	135	(14)
Appendix A Question Wording and Coding	149	(4)
Appendix B Variable Sources and Descriptions	153	(2)
Appendix C Time Series Models	155	(6)
References	161	(10)
Index	171