The Politics of Black Empowerment: The Transformation of Black Activism in Urban America / Edition 1

by James Jennings

Overview

The Politics of Black Empowerment uses the experiences of grassroots activists to develop various conceptualizations and explanations of Black political behavior today.

In analyzing Black politics since the late 1960s, James Jennings focuses on both the behavioral aspects, such as individual and group characteristics of voting and nonvoting and elections, as well as more fundamental philosophical and cultural questions regarding Black politics.

This study examines how the "traditional" face of Black politics and electoral activism interacts with a growing "progressive" face of Black politics. While traditional Black political activists seek access or political incorporation, another group aims for power sharing. The traditional approach is sometimes satisfied with merely replacing white politicians with Blacks, but the progressive constituency focuses on fundamentally changing the whole economic and political pie. Activists desirous of Black empowerment are pursuing a political and economic orientation that goes beyond programs based on access to American institutional arrangements and attempting to change or alter given political arrangements and social relations between Blacks and whites on the basis of changing the social structure and the distribution of wealth and power.

Based on interviews with Black and Latino activists in several big cities as well as on a review of the literature and the Black newspapers around the country, The Politics of Black Empowerment describes the characteristics of Black empowerment activism in America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814323182
Publisher:	Wayne State University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2000
Series:	African American Life Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

James Jennings is professor emeritus of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts University. He has published a lectured widely on Black and Latino politics and is involved with numerous grassroots efforts aimed at neighborhood empowerment.

Editorial Reviews

During and after the recent Los Angeles riots, many were asking where the effective leaders of urban black Americans were. Here Jennings (political science, U. of Massachusetts) traces the history of black political activists since the late 1960s, and weighs opinions that blacks are becoming disenchanted with or absorbed into white electoral politics. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

James Jennings has produced a first-class study of the metamorphosis of the activistic axis in Black urban politics, shrewdly structuring the study in terms of transformation from activism for mobilization-politics to activism for governance-politics.

Harvard University - Martin Kilson