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| Additional Physical Format: | Online version: Swain, Carol M. (Carol Miller) Black faces, black interests. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1993 (OCoLC)609320303 Online version: Swain, Carol M. (Carol Miller) Black faces, black interests. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1993 (OCoLC)622724205 |
|---|---|
| Document Type: | Book |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Carol M Swain |
| ISBN: | 067407615X 9780674076150 |
| OCLC Number: | 26054970 |
| Awards: | American Political Science Association Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award, 1994. |
| Description: | xi, 275 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. |
| Contents: | I. The Context. 1. The Representation of Black Interests in Congress. What Is Representation? What Are Black Interests? Who Supports the Interests of Blacks on Capitol Hill? 2. Tracing the Footsteps of Blacks on the Hill. The Reconstruction Era. The Twentieth Century -- II. Black Representatives. 3. Black Representatives of Historically Black Districts. The Thirteenth District of Michigan: George Crockett. The Second District of Pennsylvania: William Gray III. Historically Black Districts and Electoral Security. 4. Black Representatives of Newly Black Districts. The Second District of Mississippi: Mike Espy. The Fifth District of Georgia: John Lewis. Newly Black Districts and the Need for Biracial Coalitions. 5. Black Representatives of Heterogeneous Districts. The Thirty-First District of California: Mervyn Dymally. The Sixth District of New York: Floyd Flake. What Are the Constraints of Heterogeneous Districts? 6. Black Representatives of Majority-White Districts. The Fifth District of Missouri: Alan Wheat. The First District of Indiana: Katie Hall. The Eighth District of California: Ron Dellums. The Potential for Electing More Black Representatives in White Districts -- III. White Representatives. 7. White Representatives of Minority-Black Districts. The Sixth District of South Carolina: Robin Tallon. The Second District of North Carolina: Tim Valentine. A Delicate Balancing Act: Southern White Representation of African Americans. 8. White Representatives of Majority-Black Districts. The Second District of Louisiana: Lindy (Corinne) Boggs. The Tenth District of New Jersey: Peter Rodino, Jr. An Extinct Group -- IV. Implications. 9. Strategies for Increasing Black Representation of Blacks. Factors Influencing Black Political Gains in Congress. Racial Gerrymandering. Why Question the Strategy? Black Representation and the Republican Party. 10. The Future of Black Congressional Representation. Preconditions of Increased Black Representation. The Special Characteristics of Black Representatives. What Lies Ahead? -- Appendix A. Research Methods -- Appendix B. Campaign Finance, 1980-1990 -- Appendix C. Legislative Records of All Black Representatives, 100th Congress. |
| Responsibility: | Carol M. Swain. |
Abstract:
How does congress represent the interests of African Americans? Must blacks be represented by blacks to be properly heard? How do members of Congress respond to the needs of blacks in their districts, and what do congressional voting records reveal? In this incisive book Carol Swain examines the problems of representing the interests of African Americans by studying the constituency relations and roll-call voting of black members of congress from a variety of districts - historically black, newly black, heterogeneous, and primarily white-and of white members from districts with either a black majority or a significant black minority. Included are analyses of well-known figures such as William Gray, Ron Dellums, Lindy Boggs, and Peter Rodino as well as others such as Mike Espy, Mississippi's first black member of Congress since Reconstruction; Robin Tallon, a white moderate from South Carolina who has succeeded in winning broad support among blacks; and Alan Wheat, a black serving a Missouri district that is 80 percent white. What strategies, Swain asks, are most likely to lead to greater representation of black interests? She challenges the proposition that only African Americans can represent black interests effectively, and shows that creating additional black-majority districts is in any case a limited possibility. She contends that an increase in the number of black representatives in the near future can come only from the election of blacks in predominantly nonblack districts. In addition, she argues, blacks must form coalitions with white representatives to serve black needs. BLACK FACES, BLACK INTERESTS is a major contribution to our understanding of the capacity of the American political system to respond to the varied and complex interests of African Americans. Scholars and others interested in public affairs will discover valuable lessons for the future in black politics, campaigning, the workings of Congress, minority voting rights, and representation.
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Related Subjects:(22)
- United States. -- Congress. -- House.
- United States. -- Congress. -- House -- Election districts.
- African American legislators.
- Legislators -- United States.
- African Americans -- Politics and government.
- Representative government and representation -- United States.
- United States. -- Congress.
- USA -- Kongress
- Abgeordneter
- Wahlbezirk
- Interessenvertretung
- Schwarze
- Etats-Unis. -- House of representatives -- Circonscriptions électorales.
- Etats-Unis. -- House of representatives.
- Etats-Unis. Congress.
- Parlementaires noirs américains.
- Régime représentatif -- États-Unis.
- Noirs -- États-Unis -- Politique et gouvernement.
- Parlementaires -- États-Unis.
- Noirs américains -- Politique et gouvernement.
- Government
- United States
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