Black Atlantic Politics
Dilemmas of Political Empowerment in Boston and Liverpool
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Groundbreaking research on Black political participation and urban race relations on both sides of the Atlantic.
Description
Winner of the 2000 Best Book on Comparative Racial and Ethnic Politics Presented by the American Political Science Association, Section of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
This first comprehensive comparative study of Black politics focuses on American and British settings—Boston and Liverpool. The author argues that Black communities on both sides of the Atlantic face a host of social, economic, and political constraints produced by hierarchical racial systems that promote White dominance and Black subordination.
Built on a strong historical foundation and on interviews with over 150 political activists, academicians, politicians, and public administrators, this study examines some of the most important issues in the field of urban politics: the mobilization of bias in the political system, race and class constraints on the exercise of political influence, the impact of racial and political ideologies on the external policy environment, dilemmas associated with the mobilization of minority leadership, Black electoral strategies and political participation, the social consequences of urban regeneration, urban riots, school desegregation, the development of effective Black political resources, and conflict and cooperation in the internal politics of the Black community.
William E. Nelson Jr. is Research Professor of African American and African Studies and Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University. He is coauthor (with Philip Meranto) of Electing Black Mayors: Political Action in the Black Community.
Reviews
"This is a pioneering book. It offers an innovative conceptualization using new and different data and a longitudinal perspective. It thinks about racial politics in a bold and different way. A landmark study. " — Hanes Walton Jr. , author of Invisible Politics: Black Political Behavior
"An intellectual triumph! The author offers a very refreshing approach to Black politics. The interviews on both sides of the Atlantic are outstanding. I know Boston best and Nelson's understanding of city politics is remarkable. I learned much from reading this book. " — Wilbur C. Rich, coeditor of Governing Middle-Sized Cities: Studies in Mayoral Leadership