American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom is known for its lucid style, student-oriented approach, and wide-ranging perspective. Designed to allow flexibility in teaching approaches, this tenth edition retains all the features that made previous editions so popular. All chapters have been updated with new content and the latest data available, including:
- Inclusive and affirming language throughout
- Enhanced discussion on Elements of Black Culture and the political significance of African American music and the Black Church
- Black American public opinion and the various strands of African American ideology
- The CROWN Act, the politics of black hair, and the African American celebrity impact on politics
- Political significance of the increasing ethnic diversity of Black communities due to immigration from Africa and the Caribbean and the latest on Black Lives Matter discussion
- Discussion on the first Black sorority political action committee established in the U.S. and advocacy organizations serving the Black LGBTQIA+ community
- Characteristics of eligible and registered Black voters, the coverage of the 2024 presidential and congressional elections, and the results of the congressional elections with respect to partisan control of Congress and the size of the Black congressional delegation
- Demographic characteristics of the members of the 118th Congress now includes sexual orientation and generational data for comparison
- Race policies of former President Biden, reclassifying him as antiracist. An alternative method of ranking presidents that brings the views of Black experts to the conversation and includes a discussion of the record number of Black political appointments and policies implemented under Biden
- Confirmation hearing of the first Black woman, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed to the Supreme Court. New material on the Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action, and the Pigford cases testing institutional racism
- Tennessee Three, highlighting racism in the rare expulsion of two Black members of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and how Republican state-controlled legislatures are stunting the quest for universal freedom
- Revisions using the Urban Leagues State of Black America Equality Index, as a measure of material well-being in the African American community, to examine historic and systemic patterns in structural inequities as manifested in economics, health, education, social justice, and civic engagement
- Updated Textbook Media Integration Guide featuring lecture power points, chapter summaries, critical thinking questions, the profiles and Faces and Voices, and the links to the biographical material and videos
American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom continues to offer a comprehensive, rigorous, and accessible understanding of how the presence of African Americans in the United States has profoundly influenced and influences American politics. It remains essential reading for all students of American Government, Black Politics, and African American Studies, particularly those approaching the study of race and politics for the first time.
This new tenth edition includes three core additions: an assessment of the 2022 midterm and 2024 presidential and congressional midterm elections;nthe presidency of Joseph R. Biden in the context of divided government; an overall general assessment of the record of the African American elected officials in advancing the Black Agenda.
Recenzijos
"Characterizing it as an undergraduate textbook undersells what American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom truly is. The authors demonstrate in painstaking detail that U.S. politics doesnt make sense without explicitly considering race. Appreciating freedom means coming to grips with the reality that so many were initially denied it and died fighting for it. The nation progressesoften begrudginglytowards its ideal of Democracy because of these Freedom Struggles. Such efforts, while central to Black politics, have improved the conditions of every American."
Ray Block, Jr., Associate Professor, Department of African American Studies, The Pennsylvania State University
"American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom is the most comprehensive book on African American politics in the political science discipline. It situates White supremacy and institutional racism as central to American exceptionalism and illustrates how African Americans have contested the boundaries of the U.S. constitutional process and political institutions. The book further provides a layered portraitfrom the perspective of African American lawmakers, leaders, activists, policymakers, and opinion leadersof the U.S. political culture, federalism, media and politics, and foreign policy."
Sekou Franklin, Associate Professor, Middle Tennessee State University
PART I FOUNDATIONS 1. Universal Freedom Declared, Universal Freedom Denied: Racism, Slavery, and the Ideology of White Supremacy in the Founding of the Republic
2. Federalism and the Limits of Universal Freedom PART II POLITICAL BEHAVIORISM 3. Political Culture and Socialization
4. Public Opinion
5. The Media PART III COALITIONS, MOVEMENTS, INTEREST GROUPS, PARTIES, AND ELECTIONS 6. Social Movements and a Theory of African American Coalition Politics
7. Interest Groups
8. Political Parties
9. Voting Behavior and Elections PART IV INSTITUTIONS 10. The Congress and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom
11. The Presidency, Bureaucracy, and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom
12. The Supreme Court and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom
13. State and Local Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom PART V PUBLIC POLICY 14. Domestic Policy and the African American Quest for Social and Economic Justice
15. The African American Quest for Universal Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy
Robert C. Smith (19472023), Professor of Political Science Emeritus, San Francisco State University, was a (co-)author of multiple books, edited volumes, and articles such as: We Have No Leaders: African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era; Racism in the Post-Civil-Rights Era: Now You See It, Now You Dont; and his memoir, From the Bayou to the Bay: The Autobiography of a Black Liberation Scholar.
Sherri L. Wallace, Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville, has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and instructional design and serves in a variety of teaching and learning capacities on professional associations' task forces, curriculum assessments, and textbook evaluations.
Hanes Walton, Jr. (19412013), Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan, was an architect of the modern study of African American politics. Over four decades of prodigious research (including 25 books), teaching, mentoring, and conceptual refinement, he helped to make the subfield of Black politics an important area of study in political science.
