Race and Political Empowerment

Ray Block Jr.

Fall Semester, 2020

Overview

  • The logic of em(power)ment
  • Why empowerment matters
  • Research on empowerment (class discussion)

The Logic of Political Em(power)ment

The Logic of Em(power)ment

Connecting last week to this week

  • Pressure: When Blacks try to “incorporate” themselves into the (political) system
  • Empowerment: The consequences (and/or causes) of Blacks being politically incorporated
  • (empowerment is the goal of the pressure and the reason behind the threat)

The Logic of Em(power)ment

Assumptions about power and group status

  • group status: Status quo = White-over-Black hierarchy
  • presumably, shifts in power balance empower minorities
  • capitalizing on power shifts requires coalition building (more on this next week)

The Logic of Em(power)ment

  • Power over: ability to coerce and influence the actions/thoughts of others
  • Power to: capacity to act, organize, and change existing hierarchies
  • Power with: grows through collective action, mobilization, & coalition-building
  • Power from within: greater individual consciousness, awareness, etc.

The Logic of Em(power)ment

  • Example outcomes (by different definitions of power)

The Logic of Em(power)ment

  • The key to power: political incorporation

Why Empowerment Matters

Why Empowerment Matters

Group empowerment is an important area of research

Since the late 1960s, increasingly successful [mayoral] bids by African Americans . . . have led to the development of a burgeoning literature investigating . . . what differences African American mayors have made in addressing the needs of African Americans in urban politics (Wu 2010, 226).

Why Empowerment Matters

Group empowerment is an essential feature of group politics

[B]lacks will be more trusting of . . . government . . . [with [African American] leadership] because of the expectation of increased government responsiveness to the[ir] concerns. (Howell and Marshall 1998, 361-362)

Why Empowerment Matters

The literature responds to political developments:

  • the Black mayors surge in the `60s (in mostly-Black cities)
  • recent trends of Black mayors winning in “White cities”
  • the rising number of Black (state/federal) legislators
  • the increased presence of Black judicial officials
  • Obama’s the candidacy of 2-term presidency

Why Empowerment Matters

It teaches us about how Black leader navigate

  • resource limits (i.e., the “devolution revolution”)
  • expensive constituencies (i.e., the “hollow prize”)
  • polarized interests ([de]racialization, universalizing)

Research on Empowerment

Research on Empowerment

Some things to ponder WRT this week’s readings…

  1. How do Black leaders manage governing challenges?
  2. How do the citizens respond to these leaders?
  3. Would #1 and/or #2 differ if the leaders were White?