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Black Political Participation
Pages 205-268

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From page 206...
... The 1920s .
From page 207...
... Through litigation and protest, black political participation has been primarily a collective process throughout much of the period covered by this report. Therefore, we define political participation as activity directed toward the attainment, maintenance, or enhancement of collective aspirations regarding the rights of citizenship.
From page 208...
... Board of Education in 1954; equal access was extended to public accommodations by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and to the housing market by the Fair Housing Act of 1968; and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 guaranteed the franchise to southern blacks for the first time in this century. As a consequence, there was a broadening of black political objectives in the mid-1960s, a shift from the politics of rights to the politics of resources, a stronger emphasis on blacks' material status.
From page 209...
... We consider several aspects of this question. We discuss how blacks mobilized to secure the civil and democratic status of citizenship, the prerequisite to participation in the competition for political voice ("The Struggle for Civil Rights".
From page 210...
... B DuBois once framed this issue with the admonition, "We face a condition, not a theory." Or, as Vernon Jordan, former executive director of the National Urban League, greeted Ronald Reagan's victory in 1980: If the Reagan Administration protects black social and civil rights gains, and if it fulfills its promises to wipe out unemployment, it can add blacks to its Pm~r~in~ rm~litimn Clark r,er~nle urn nor we.~1 to anv given r,olitical -^~^-~D^~ _~^~^_~^A~ ^~ ~ -- t~ -} D- -- - 17philosophy.
From page 211...
... many blacks view the choice between "black power" and "integration" in instrumental or tactical, rather than philosophical, terms. For many black Americans, the desirability of a given mode of political activity (voting, lobbying, or protest)
From page 212...
... , majorities of both whites and blacks say that "too little" money is being spent. However, blacks invariably are more likely to favor increased spending on social services: the differences are 20 percentage points on "improving cities" and 41 percentage points on "welfare, but only 4 percentage points on crime control." It appears that the political views of blacks also differ significantly from those of other racial minorities, although the data on this subject are fragmentary.
From page 213...
... (N = 1,323) White Increase government spending on Education 78 55 23 Improving cities 67 47 20 Health 75 57 18 Environment 67 52 15 Crime control 79 75 4 Drug control 71 60 11 Welfare 58 17 41 Improving race relations 88 23 65 Decrease government spending on Defense 46 30 16 Space exploration 76 38 38 Source: Data from 1982 General Social Survey, reported in Seltzer and Smith (1985:Tables 1, 4)
From page 214...
... Upper status blacks are also the most likely to possess the motivation and organizational ties to participate actively in electoral politics, as well as in other modes of political activity (Gurin et al., 1988~. Thus, most members of the black middle class pursue group as well as individual goals when they attain positions of leadership.
From page 215...
... fate," or identification with the shared experience of black Americans, is an important predictor of policy preferences. In addition to support for problack positions on race-related issues, such as affirmative action and South Africa, it is also associated with a desire for increased spending on education, jobs, and social welfare, and a desire to cut spending on defense.
From page 216...
... Although that year's Civil Rights Act actually was supported in Congress by a higher proportion of Republicans than Democrats, the significant facts were its introduction by one Democratic president and its signing into law by another. Only six Republican senators voted against it, but one of them was Barry Goldwater, his party's presidential candidate.
From page 217...
... Civil rights issues have reinforced the economic interests underlying black partisanship. Lower status blacks, like lower status whites, support the Democrats for economic reasons.
From page 218...
... The Democrats face a challenge in attempting to retain their black base. They must wrestle with the "special interest" perception in handling black priorities, but they must also accommodate the reality of the increased black presence in the parry's shrunken coalition base and the demands for an increased leadership role that accompany that presence.3 Despite the difficulties posed by most blacks' negative view of the Reagan legacy, the Republicans currently enjoy the best opportunity in a quarter of a century to compete for the black vote-particularly among younger blacks of the postcivil rights generation.
From page 219...
... The 1984 National Black Election Study found 24 percent in favor of a black party (Gurin et al., 1988~. An earlier nationwide survey of black elected officials found that 9 percent considered "formation of an independent all-Black political party" to be "very important," and 15 percent considered it "fairly important" as a means of"achieving real progress for Blacks in America" (Conyers and Wallace, 1976:28~.
From page 220...
... ANTECEDENTS TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT The use of protest as a political tactic has a long history among blacks. Developed as one of the few tactics available to them as slaves, organized protest was artfully used as a political and economic stratagem by the freed people during Reconstruction and afterward (Genovese, 1974; laynes, 1986:Ch.
From page 221...
... To understand why a successful, broadly based civil rights movement emerged when and where it did, one must look beyond the constant of racial inequality and focus on variables such as socioeconomic development, political opportunities, black organizational resources, and changing attitudes toward race relations in the population (see Chapters 2-4 above; McAdam, 1982; Morris, 1984~. Socioeconomic Changes The opportunity for a comprehensive attempt to change black political status was facilitated by the rapidly changing socioeconomic structure of the postwar South.
From page 222...
... Over time, the civil rights movement effected change with the aid of these social forces. Public opinion toward desegregation, even in the South, changed rapidly.
From page 223...
... An even larger majority of whites thought that civil rights leaders were "pushing too fast." Blacks, however, increasingly thought that their leadership was "going too slowly" rather than "pushing too fast" (Burstein, 1985:59~. Thus, the civil rights initiatives of the 1960s occurred in an atmosphere that might best be characterized as a mixture of empathy with the civil rights movement and growing acceptance of the notion that black Americans were entitled to the enjoyment of the most basic civil rights, counterbalanced by anxiety over the speed of change.
From page 224...
... EN FORCEMENT OF CIVI L RIGHTS Following passage of the civil rights laws of the 1960s, emphasis in the field of civil rights shifted from the adoption of laws and policies to issues of enforcement. This section examines the evolution of civil rights enforcement in four areas: voting, education, employment, and public accommodations and housing.
From page 225...
... Voting The voting rights that were to be protected by the voter registration provisions of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 could not be implemented in practice because of the necessity for case-by-case adjudication in the courts. This was remedied by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which mandated the stationing of federal examiners in those individual southern counties with the worst history of abuse (see below)
From page 226...
... In the mid-1980s, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice devoted much effort to end busing in some locations where it had been ordered by federal courts-Norfolk Savannah, and Oklahoma City-or where it had been voluntarily adopted-Seattle.
From page 227...
... , created by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In its early years, the agency was relatively impotent.
From page 228...
... 424 [19711:431~. Both the language of Title VII and the legislative history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act offered explicit assurances that employers would not be required to maintain quotas of employees.
From page 229...
... P"bl~c Accornmodattons and Housing Public accommodations and housing are the two polar ends of the compliance continuum in the civil rights field. Compliance with the public accommodations provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act has been relatively straightforward, although some legal ambiguities remain with regard to private clubs.
From page 230...
... Southern 7 O 1 1 1 1952 1956 1960 1964 __ Nl~rth~rn whited / ~ at' 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 YEAR Source: Data from Current Population Surveys. DEMOCRATIC STATUS: VOTING AND HOLDING OFFICE The Voting Rights Act of 1965 marked the beginning of a new era in contemporary American politics.
From page 231...
... The latter factor is probably heavily conditioned by the generally subordinate position of blacks in American life. Yet lower status rural blacks are distinctive for a lack of political interest and a high degree of trust in political authorities-a combination of attitudes that tends to depress all forms of political participation (Gurin et al., 1988)
From page 232...
... Commission on Civil Rights, 1961:100, 136~. The futility of this piecemeal litigation strategy was recognized in the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which authorized the appointment of federal officials to register voters in those counties that most egregiously denied blacks the right to vote.
From page 233...
... By the 1980s the Voting Rights Act had become a major tool to advance the interests not just of blacks but of some other minorities as well: American Indians, Asian-Americans, and Hispanics. The key criterion is election of minority candidates (Thernstrom, 1987~.
From page 234...
... . The relationships linking race and other demographic variables to turnout have clearly changed over time, and these changes have had important consequences for the electoral inclusion of lower status black Americans.
From page 235...
... Overall, the 1980s have seen a dramatic mobilization of lower status blacks with a previously marginal attachment to electoral politics. For example, first-time black registrants between 1982 and 1984 were disproportionately ~' ~ 235
From page 236...
... The trend toward mobilization of lower status blacks is not mirrored in the white population: between 1978 and 1984, the determinants of white turnout remained fairly constant. The role of race consciousness as a factor in political participation has received increased attention in some recent studies.
From page 237...
... By motivating blacks to participate in community organizations, racial solidarity helps to mobilize lower status as well as upper status blacks for political activity (Gurin et al., 1988~. In contrast, other researchers believe that changes in the political environment is the major determinant of political participation.
From page 238...
... Thereafter it grew dramatically, especially in the South, where black candidates were generally not viable until the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Since 1965, black Americans have been elected to every major elective public office except those of chief executives: president, vice president, and governor.
From page 239...
... 3; Tacbel, 1978~. After controlling for other factors, election by districts yields a level of black representation on city councils that is roughly equal to the black share of the city population; an at-large system yields a black share of seats that is one-half the black population percentage; see Figure 5-3.
From page 240...
... on .
From page 241...
... For example, judges are often appointed to office. Prior to World War II, black judges were even more scarce than black elected officials.
From page 242...
... leveled off in the 1980s, rising from 94 to 98, while the number of black state and municipal judges continued to climb, from 505 to 743. The black share of federal judicial appointments dropped from 16.1 percent under Carter to 2.5 percent under Reagan.
From page 243...
... Sources: Data for 1970 from Toles (1970) ; data for 1986 from the Joint Center for Political Studies (1986)
From page 244...
... However, the number of new hires at the state and local levels declined from 17,749 to 13,699 over the same time span (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1986:Tables 5, 7~.
From page 245...
... argued that "the decline of civil rights groups is both inevitable and functional," and he agreed with Reed (1986) that black elected officials are destined to become the most important source of black political leadership.
From page 246...
... Black ministers frequently serve as "brokers," bringing together the diverse elements within a local black community to reach common ground for collective action (Nelson, 1987~. The autonomy and reach of the black church made it the natural organizational framework for the civil rights movement in the South (see Chapter 4; Morris, 1984)
From page 247...
... has said: "The 'problem of the powerless' in protest activity is to activate 'third parties' to enter the implicit or explicit bargaining arena in ways favorable to the protesters." Thus, black protest has often coincided with other, more conventional, forms of participation that serve to resolve conflicts that would not have been placed on an agenda without the protest activity. The concept of confrontation to initiate negotiation was the strategic core of the civil rights movement.
From page 248...
... One reason is that black executives often work in equal employment opportunity compliance and other minority-related areas; these jobs do not have much immediate impact on profits and are often the first to go during cutbacks.
From page 249...
... Thus, the mere existence of black elected officials cannot be equated with political power (Iones, 1978)
From page 250...
... son, 1987~. The promotion of black-owned businesses was seen as "very important" by 86 percent of black elected officials, and 71 percent considered it 250
From page 251...
... The southern states, where half of the black population resides, continue to spend the least on education and other basic social services. The election of black state legislators, and the expansion of statewide black lobbying efforts, is likely to be an increasingly important arena for black politics.
From page 252...
... Blacks and their allies exerted pressure on four major fronts: during the 1984 presidential campaign, highlighting the significance of black participation in the Democratic coalition; in Congress, demonstrating the importance of senior black members; in city governments, which were responsive to the growing black electorate; and in grass roots activism. The Reagan administration had pursued a policy of "constructive engagement" with the South African regime from 1981 to 1985.
From page 253...
... Several major corporations left South Africa in 1986 and 1987, partly because city governments have responded to lobbying by refusing to do business with firms that have a presence in South Africa. This exodus may accelerate as a result of the federal budget package passed in late 1987, which increased taxes on American corporate subsidiaries remaining in South Africa.
From page 254...
... This passivity is partly a function of the somewhat adversarial relationship between many clients and their local service bureaucracies; partly because the recipients have many socioeconomic characteristics that generally are associated with low levels of political participation and involvement; and partly due to the ambivalence many clients feel about welfare dependency, which makes many recipients less enthusiastic advocates for their programs than, say, Social Security beneficiaries.
From page 255...
... Minority Business Potty Minority business enterprises have had more support within the political system than have the broad antipoverty programs. The early lodging of these activities in the Small Business Administration (SBA)
From page 256...
... White owners of small businesses began to complain that the minority enterprise programs gave an unfair advantage to their minority competitors and lobbied to restrict the programs. Many minority enterprises, it was charged, were little more than white-owned and managed "front" firms with token black representation.
From page 257...
... , ~,7 , Each argument was credible among both black leaders and constituents. 13lack interest groups were generally not very active on either side of the issue, although some did testify in support of maintaining tax breaks for individual items deemed beneficial to blacks or those that would help governments serving black population centers (such as the deductibility of state and local taxes)
From page 258...
... In each of those chapters it is clear that black political participation has been an important factor in the post-1940 determination of blacks' status. Equal access to schools, jobs, and medical facilities have frequently come to blacks only through political pressure on courts and legis 258
From page 259...
... 1987 Class, Race, and the Civil Rights Movement. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
From page 260...
... 1987 Manuscript prepared for the Panel on Political Participation, Committee on the Status of Black Americans, National Research Council, Washingon, D.C. Clark, Terry Nichols, and Lorna Crowley Ferguson 1983 City Money: Political processes, Fiscal Strain, and Retrenchment.
From page 261...
... Fleming, Harold C 1965 The federal executive and civil rights: 1961-1965.
From page 262...
... Hamilton 1986 Social policies, civil rights, and poverty.
From page 263...
... Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political Studies. 1985 Black Elected C~icials: A National Roster.
From page 264...
... 1986 The Evolution of Equal Employment Opportunity Programs, 1940-1985. Paper prepared for the Committee on the Status of Black Americans, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
From page 265...
... 1984 The Orifrins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Charge. New York: Free Press.
From page 266...
... Rustin, Bayard 1965 From protest to politics: the future of the civil rights movement. Commentary 39(February)
From page 267...
... U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 1961 Voting.
From page 268...
... Cavanagh, ea., Strategies for Mobilizing Black Voters. Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political Studies.


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